Paralyzed into Irrelevance: How Divisions on Palestine Eroded the EU’s Normative Claims

The EU's passive position on Palestine stands in clear contrast to how the EU projects itself: as a normative actor in global affairs. While the EU has taken much clearer stances in other cases to uphold its values, seemingly, Palestine is treated differently. Reasons for this include colonial and neocolonial amnesia, European historical guilt for the century-long persecution of Jews and especially the Shoah, and the strong influence of pro-Israel lobby groups in Brussels. EU policies are also heavily impacted by US unconditional (military) support for Israel, as well as by the lack of genuine Arab regimes’ solidarity with Palestine. In effect, this means that the EU’s relations with regional heavyweights, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, or the United Arab Emirates, are not disrupted by the Palestinian question. Put together, these factors play a crucial role when trying to understand EU inaction.
In addition, a variety of EU-internal reasons complicate joint action, including the EU’s institutional setting and decision-making mechanism, divisions between EU member states, and differences between key EU officials. Below, we shed nuanced light on these EU-internal issues.