The European elections on 9 June call on us to spotlight the European Union’s complicity in the occupation and the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
The President of the European Commission has made some despicable statements throughout her mandate. Notably, her last year’s comments on May 2023. She has celebrated the Nakba, the catastrophe, claiming that Israel upholds “democratic values” and “makes the desert bloom”. These are colonialist statements that deny the tragedy that befell 800,000 Palestinians 76 years ago to date. The far right, exemplified by Jordan Bardella, candidate for the Rassemblement National in France, expressed its support for the genocide with racist and Islamophobic rhetoric, associating the Palestine struggle with terrorism.
Under the accelerated genocide, the European Union is maintaining its strong political and commercial ties with apartheid Israel, the settler-colonial power, granting it preferential treatment. For instance, the EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, accounting for around a third of Israel’s total trade, which amounts to goods worth 28.8 billion euros. This trade flagrantly defies Article 2 of the Association Agreement, which cynically claims “respect for human rights and democratic principles”.
We reiterate our urgent call to sever all ties and divest from companies and products rooted in colonial oppression, plunder, and genocide. These entities facilitate and support the settler-colonial regime, abetting all crimes. It is imperative to take decisive action now. Voting against policies that endorse such ties is an important step to support the struggle of the Palestinian people in such crucial times.
Moreover, the countries of the European Union are among the most significant arms suppliers to Israel. Germany is the second largest arms supplier, accounting for 30% of arms imports, or €326 million, while France has sold arms worth €208 million since 2013. Several countries have stopped selling arms under grassroots pressure, and this same international mobilization led to a recent victory in the campaign waged by activists to prevent cargo ships loaded with arms for Israel from docking in Cartagena, Spain.
Thousands of Palestinians have sought asylum in Europe. We demand a dignified welcome and asylum for all. We fundamentally denounce the EU for it’s repressive, colonial, racist and Islamophobic migration policy, represented by the new pact on migration and asylum and Manfred Weber’s, the President of the European People’s Party, warlike anti-immigrant speech.
The European Union is a key player in the repression of the Palestinian people’s struggle. The criminalization of Palestine solidarity activities with Palestine, including imprisonment and legislation, has accelerated across Europe. Many Activists and defenders of the Palestinian cause are now in European Prisons, some under orders from the Zionist occupation. Entry to the Schengen area has been banned for academics and activists, and freedom of expression has been unprecedentedly restricted. Academics have been expelled from universities under pressure from the Zionist lobby. Many demonstrations and protests have been banned and suppressed. Moreover, hundreds of people have been arrested, beaten, or threatened with prosecution. The legal charge for such cases is often “supporting terrorism”, simply for defending the Palestinian people’s right to resistance, a right enshrined by the United Nations. Palestinian resistance organizations and political parties have been classified as “terrorist organizations” to delegitimize, weaken and quash the resistance globally. On the other hand, EU state members call and promoting for volunteering and participating in the Ukrainian resistance against the Russian occupation attempt. The double standard is indefensible.
The policies of the European Union concern us all. The colonialist, racist and imperialist policies of the major European powers are not confined to Palestine: they affect working-class neighbourhoods and other oppressed countries and peoples throughout the world.
As residents of the European Union, we have a responsibility. In these European elections, we are calling for sanctions against candidates who support Israel and oppose the just demands of the Palestinian people.
From now on June 9, the day the European elections are held, we will continue to denounce the silence of the European community, and therefore affirm that Europe is complicit in the genocide against the Palestinian people. Be aware and consistent: do not vote for genocide.
Although the European Parliament has very little decision-making power in relation to the key policies denounced above, which are mostly in the hands of member-State governments and EU bureaucrats, these elections are nevertheless politically very important. We must keep votes for pro-Israel parties to a minimum, especially those that are part of the far-right international with Netanyahu at its centre.
We demand to the EU institution and member states
- To actively support the implementation of an immediate and permanent ceasefire, lifting of the siege, and the unconditional entry of aid to Gaza.
- To impose lawful political, economic, diplomatic sanctions and a comprehensive two-way military embargo against Israel, cancelling free-trade and cooperation agreements and energy deals; banning goods from companies implicated in Israel’s illegal settlement enterprises.
- Ensure that corporate entities and institutions domiciled in their territory or under their jurisdiction cease and desist from supporting Israel’s genocide and other crimes under international law, including apartheid and colonial settlements, and hold them accountable for any complicity.
- Support ongoing legal actions against Israel and its leaders both at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
We marched in the streets in the tens of thousands on 18 May in Brussels, and we will continue to escalate pressure until the EU ends all complicity in the genocide of the Palestinian people. Let’s make our voice heard. All people of conscience must stand up for what is right and act as part of an anti-colonial and anti-racist movement for equality and justice. And after the vote, let’s keep up the fight! Palestine is the cause of all the exploited and oppressed in the world! Tomorrow is ours!
Signatures:
- Urgence Palestine (France)
- Workers for Palestine (Netherlands)
- Coalició Prou Complicitat amb Israel (Catalonia)
- Bündniss Yousef Shaban (Germany)
- Beitna. (Belgium)
- Zivilgesellschaft für Gerechtigkeit (Germany)