EU remains divided over sanctions on Israel over Gaza war

The European Union remained divided on Saturday on how to react to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and what measure to take against Israel at a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Copenhagen.

The European Commission had proposed suspending research funding for Israeli companies after an internal EU review concluded that Israel's actions in the embattled territory violate an EU-Israel agreement that obliges both sides to respect human rights.

Germany has been among the countries blocking the measure from going forward. German Foreign Minsiter Johan Wadephul stressed that Berlin is not ready to back the sanction proposal for the time being.

The planned measure is unlikely to have any influence on Israel's political decision-making and military actions in the Gaza Strip, Wadephul said.

That is why Germany is not convinced by the proposal, Wadephul said.

The minister emphasized that Germany is instead restricting arms deliveries to Israel. "I believe this is a very targeted measure that is very important and very necessary," he said.

EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said she was "not very optimistic" that there will be a consensus on how to react to the war in Gaza as "quite a lenient" proposal she has made to suspend research funding has failed to reach the required majority backing.

The plans would have to be approved by a so-called qualified majority, meaning by at least 15 out of the EU's 27 member states representing at least 65% of the bloc's population. This gives Germany, who is the largest EU state with a population of 83.5 million, a big say.

"When we are divided, we don't have a unified voice. If you don't have a unified voice, then on this topic we don't have [a] voice on the global scene," she added.

While some EU countries, like Germany and Austria, remain hesitant to back sanctions, several other countries including Denmark, Spain and Ireland are pushing for a tougher stance.

"We now must change words into action," said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who hosted the meeting.

"We consider Israel a friend, and the Israeli people a friend. But we have an issue with the current government," he added.

Denmark is ready to restrict trade with Israel, impose a ban on products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank or put sanctions on Israeli ministers, Rasmussen said.

He admitted though that reaching consensus on these measures "is probably not achievable," adding that the EU's problem is that "the slow ship in the convoy decides the speed."