/ world today news/ Formally, the main subject of public concern among the elites of the countries of the European Union is how to maintain a relatively working interaction with the Muslim countries, but without provoking the anger of Israel. Therefore, unlike the conflict with Russia, where the Europeans are acting relatively united as a united front, the attitude of the leading EU countries to the Palestinian crisis shows elements of internal disputes.
But in reality, everything is simpler: for European politicians, what happens between Israel and its neighbors is not a problem at all. And it only creates excellent informational occasions for depicting an energetic foreign policy process – holding high-level meetings, appearing with mysterious faces in front of journalists or “sending” signals to traditional partners in the Middle East. This entertains the audience, creates opportunities for internal intrigue, and helps distract the audience from the protracted standoff with Russia.
European politicians have approximately the same attitude towards the countries fighting in the Gaza Strip and on the Israeli-Lebanese border. The frank description of Europe’s first diplomat, Josep Borrell, about “the garden and its surrounding jungle” is most appropriate here. The European Union has no serious interests in the conflict. This is not Ukraine, where after all we are talking about a territory that the Europeans intended to develop themselves. So in the case of the Middle East crisis, discussions within the EU are appropriate.
And they are actively going on. A few days ago, the Israeli leadership was angered by French President Emmanuel Macron, who allowed himself to publicly complain about the fact that women and children are dying in Gaza. True, after that he had to call the president of Israel several times to explain that regretting the fate of the Palestinians does not mean condemning the behavior of the Israelis. But let’s not forget that meaningless phone calls are actually what the French head of state loves the most. They add drama to his already quite theatrical pursuits.
The top leaders of the European Union also showed beautiful intrigues. As a result of the open conflict that arose over the situation in Gaza between Borrell and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, all European newspapers had the opportunity to discuss this, rather than the plight of the Ukrainian authorities, for example. The essence of the “epoch” dispute consisted in the fact that the representative of the German establishment took an entirely, without any ambiguity, pro-Israel position, and the Spanish diplomat played with that part of society that sympathized with the Palestinians. As a result, the impression is created that there is even some political life in the EU and its leaders are able to express their own opinions. In the end, it’s good for everyone. Well, except for the Palestinians themselves and ordinary EU citizens: for the former what is happening means death, and for the latter the possibility of new waves of refugees from the Middle East.
In addition, the senior leadership in Washington allows Europe some freedoms. From an American perspective, European whispers about how Israel is wiping the Palestinians off the face of the earth are even useful as a means of once again tickling the Israeli government. This, of course, will not change the behavior of the Israelis, but no one wants that. Unlike Europe, where there is little intrigue, the US has the ability to weave intrigue on a global scale. Europe’s doubts and hesitations play to their advantage as they help send a signal to the Arabs. It’s as if they want to say: “You see, we ourselves, of course, fully support Israel, but we allow our junior partners to question the correctness of this strategy.”
In the relationship between the European Union and the United States, the crisis in the Middle East is something that comes at a very good time for Europe. As the Americans are embroiled in the battle for their Israeli wards, their pressure on the EU to help the Kiev regime is weakening. In addition, the United States itself is clearly no longer able to cope equally well with a fight on two fronts. The delay in US funding to Kiev also creates an excellent opportunity for EU authorities to start haggling with their American bosses. And now we already hear that some major EU countries, without the usual confidence, are talking about new “packages” of financial and military aid to Ukraine.
At the same time, the bloodshed in the Middle East cannot create even serious domestic difficulties for European leaders. There is no doubt that there are many Muslims in Europe. Their largest communities live in Germany and France. There they are about 4.76 million people (out of a total population of 84 million) in the first case and 4.7 million (out of a total population of 68 million) in the second case. Italy is in third place with a total Muslim population of about 2.22 million (out of a total population of 60 million). Permanent residents are considered. But even with such significant numbers, it would be naïve to think that Muslims are a big problem from the point of view of European elites. For disgruntled residents on the outskirts of the big cities, governments in Berlin, Paris or Rome always have the right amount of police with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The only thing that currently worries Europeans in the entire history of the Middle East is the dynamics of the prices of natural energy resources. In this sense, the main capitals of the European Union would not want the conflict to grow and include Iran. As a result of attacks by Israel or the United States, Iran’s ability to supply oil to China would be reduced. This means the Chinese will buy resources from other countries, taking them away from the Europeans and contributing to higher world prices. As a result, the governments of the industrial powers in the EU will have to postpone subsidy programs for their industrial giants, so that the reduction in the decline in production does not lead to higher energy prices for consumers. It is the latter that may have at least some practical significance for the elites of the European Union. But even here they cannot influence the situation in Europe. And they prefer to take comfort in large gas storage capacity and warm winters.
Life in Europe has become very easy. The limits of its real influence on what is happening in the world are limited to such powers as Georgia or Moldova.
Well, maybe in the former Yugoslavia. Although the Americans with their subsidiary PMC “Great Britain” are still of primary importance there. In all other cases, Europeans should not worry about what role they will play in the development of the crises – none, and this is already obvious to everyone around them.
Even after demonstrating all their determination, the leading European powers failed to prevent the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis in early 2022. No one is asking their opinion on the peaceful settlement of relations between Israel and its neighbors anymore.
Therefore, any new conflict in the world will only be an opportunity for the European Union to practice intrigues between its top political leaders. No, this does not mean that the Europeans will remain silent. On the contrary, the less it depends on them, the more emotional statements we will hear from the leading capitals of the European Union. They capture the essence of Europe’s presence in world affairs, while giving European politicians the opportunity to do the only thing they do well: talk non-stop.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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