"Europe will always be on the side of humanity and human rights," says the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a message published today in the institution's internal communication service and which is interpreted as a response to the harsh criticism contained in the letter that community officials sent him last week, in which they regretted the "apparent indifference demonstrated" towards the "massacre of civilians in the Gaza Strip" and the "uncontrolled" support for Israel.
In the message, to which La Vanguardia has had access, Von der Leyen emphasizes that the European Commission regrets the loss of "all the innocent lives in this conflict, of all faiths and nationalities" and claims that its services have been working "from the beginning of the crisis" to alleviate the suffering of "all" (in capital letters) those affected by the indiscriminate terrorist attacks, both by showing solidarity with Israel and by tripling humanitarian aid to Gaza and supporting the creation of an air bridge to Egypt. Both measures were announced by the community executive after a week of criticism for its statements of support for the Israeli Government, which initially did not include the condition that Israel's response to the brutal Hamas attack, which left 1,400 dead, must be "in accordance to international and humanitarian law", as stated in the EU common position.
"I want to assure you that Europe will always stand on the side of humanity and human rights. We will work together with the international community to ensure that international humanitarian law is respected. We are redoubling our efforts to bring emergency aid to civilians affected by this war and we will spare no effort, together with our partners, to contribute to bringing stability and peace to the region based on the two-state solution, as recently confirmed by the European Council," adds Von der Leyen. This common position was agreed precisely to settle the confusion that the German conservative's public demonstrations were sowing on such a delicate issue, on which the EU has historically only been able to agree on very nuanced positions.
"I know that many of you are also affected on a personal level by this crisis," Von der Leyen points out, citing the murder and kidnapping of European civilians by Hamas, although to the surprise of some officials she does not cite, for example, the situation in which it finds itself. the population of Gaza, which the Israeli army has ordered to leave the strip in order to carry out its plan to annihilate the terrorist group Hamas. "These are difficult times for all Europeans, some of you may feel uncomfortable," adds Von der Leyen, alluding to the recent terrorist attacks in Arras and Brussels, before thanking the work "from dawn to dusk" in Brussels and the delegations. of the EU in the region. "Be strong," he asks them.
Von der Leyen ends the message by thanking the institution's colleagues "who have shared their points of view and feelings" about the latest events in the region. "Together with the other members of the Council, I am ready to speak and listen to your concerns and suggestions," says the president of the community executive in what appears to be a response to the unprecedented open letter signed by more than 800 employees of the European Commission. last week, an absolutely unusual reaction that gives an idea of the discomfort created by his positions.
"We cannot be silent observers when the institution that you represent as president has not only been unable to stop the Palestinian tragedy unfolding for decades with total impunity, but with its recent unfortunate positions it seems to give free rein to the acceleration and legitimization of crimes of war in the Gaza Strip," said the letter, in which Commission staff complained that they "barely recognized EU values in the institution's apparent indifference to the massacre of civilians in the Gaza Strip." , which violates human rights and international humanitarian law."
Von der Leyen's delay in reacting to the capitals' criticism of the messages she was sending on behalf of the EU about the war between Israel and Hamas, in line with the classic position of the German Government, as well as the fact that the foreign policy is a competence of the Council and not of the institution that she presides, has fueled rumors in Brussels that, contrary to what seemed until a few weeks ago, the German does not aspire to a second term at the head of the Commission European Union but to lead the Atlantic Alliance.
