European double standards: EU wants ‘de-escalation’ for Israel, but ‘more war’ for Ukraine

Europeans for Israel.
Photo: Getty Images

EU leaders are suddenly embracing diplomacy in the Middle East—after shunning it in Eastern Europe, notes ‘The European Conservative’.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has called for an emergency meeting of foreign ministers on Tuesday, June 17th, to discuss the EU’s response to the war between Israel and Iran, and to urge both sides, especially Tel Aviv, to de-escalate through diplomatic means instead of continuing the airstrikes.

“Lasting security is built through diplomacy, not military action,” Kallas said over the weekend, after speaking to Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and noting a “dangerously high” risk of regional escalation.

Her comments echoed EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and several European leaders, such as Germany’s, France’s, and the UK’s, who — albeit recognizing Israel’s right to self-defense — have all urged for “restraint” going forward.

Regarding the Tuesday meeting, which is set to be held via video-link, Kallas’ office said its goal will be to coordinate “diplomatic outreach to Tel Aviv and Tehran,” and that Brussels remains “strongly committed to regional security and de-escalation,” because a “lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue which can only be through a negotiated deal.”

This newfound enthusiasm for diplomatic negotiations and the willingness to engage with both sides in a conflict are in stark contrast to the EU’s Ukraine strategy over the past three years.

Brussels has not only refused to re-establish any diplomatic contact with Moscow since the invasion — threatening national leaders or EU lawmakers with disciplinary action if they did so bilaterally — but also actively discouraged Kyiv itself from negotiating before the Trump-led peace process began this year.

The EU’s double standards are made all the more apparent when you put Kallas’ remarks side by side with recent statements from EU officials on Ukraine. “Diplomacy will not help — only strength,” said Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius this month, while von der Leyen talked about the need to turn Ukraine into a “steel porcupine” with Western arms before it could negotiate from a stronger position.

...This situation has revealed more than just “double standards.” It is Europe's historical Russophobia. European hypocrites hate Russia, but are afraid of Israel, lest they be accused of anti-Semitism.

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