One year after the EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in her State of the Union address, Europe has still failed to deliver.
Meanwhile, the reality on the ground has only worsened: relentless destruction and death in Gaza, accelerating annexation of the West Bank, the introduction of the death penalty for Palestinians, and extremist Israeli national security minister Ben-Gvir’s chilling calls for mass killings in Gaza and booths for public hangings of Palestinians.
At the same time, the wider regional order is being reshaped. The illegal war led by US president Donald Trump and Israel against Iran is another major disruptor, in the region and beyond.
It is devastating Iran, sending energy prices soaring worldwide, including in Europe, while generating windfall profits for energy giants and aligning with Trump’s fossil-fuel agenda.
It has also made the Middle East more multipolar, with middle powers acting with growing autonomy and increasingly shaping regional security. The previous order, anchored in an unquestioned US security guarantee, is giving way to a more unpredictable and contested landscape.
