The European Union¡¯s position and action on the Middle East is becoming markedly tough. Last week¡¯s EU leaders¡¯ meeting focused on Russia, but the 27 leaders were also concerned about the fragile ceasefire in Gaza and discussed how to stabilize the region. Luxembourg Prime Minister Friedman said during the meeting: ¡°It¡¯s crucial that Europe can¡¯t just stand by, but act actively.¡±

Avoid being marginalized in peace plans.

¡°The EU strives to avoid being marginalized in the Gaza peace plan.¡± the 25th edition of the Italian news site eunews said that from the start of a new outbreak of conflict on October 7, 2023, the EU is the ¡°absence¡± of this conflict. on the one hand, the United States, on the other hand, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, and the EU in the conflict over the past two years on the Gaza Strip ¡°little hand¡±. however, as the United States advances the ¡°20-point plan¡± to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the EU, which is not obviously involved, is trying to play a role.

In a speech to the European Parliament in mid-September, EU Commission President Von der Leyen first proposed new measures against Israel, including sanctioning extremist Israeli ministers and suspending part of trade preferences. The Associated Press then revealed that the EU is discussing tariffs on Israeli goods, freezing some official assets, and imposing travel bans. This marks the first time the EU has clearly considered the use of economic and sanctions tools on the Israeli issue.

In October, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy issued a statement welcoming the U.S.-led ceasefire and hostage release plan in Gaza, reiterating that the "two-state solution" is a credible path to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and emphasizing the EU's willingness to participate in the implementation of specific arrangements. Subsequently, an internal document of the European External Action Service was exposed, suggesting that the EU "maximize its influence in Gaza" and strive to join the "Peace Committee" mechanism to play a substantial role in the post-war reconstruction and governance of Gaza. At the same time, the European Commission publicly called on Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid, and nine southern European countries jointly urged Israel to "immediately open its border crossings", showing that EU member states are becoming increasingly tough on the Middle East issue.

On the whole, the EU is trying to get rid of the past image of "giving money but not contributing", and shifting from simply making diplomatic appeals to promoting policy implementation and striving to participate in reconstruction. Germany's IT BOLTWISE News Network reported that the EU is facing a diplomatic dilemma in the Middle East-despite providing a lot of financial support, its political participation is insufficient. The EU must rethink its role so that it is not only regarded as a fund provider, but also as a political participant.

The EU has always emphasized humanitarian aid, respect for international law and promoting regional stability in Middle Eastern affairs, with economic cooperation, development support and diplomatic dialogue as its primary means, but real conflicts and political games continue to remind Europe that relying on ¡°moral diplomacy¡± is difficult to cope with complex situations. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has claimed: ¡°Europe has basically lost its influence and has shown great weakness.¡±

In August this year, senior EU officials explicitly used the term "genocide" for the first time to accuse Israel of military operations in Gaza. This unprecedented statement marked a major shift in the EU's position on the Middle East issue. Europe is no longer willing to play the role of a "bystander" on the Middle East stage, but hopes to use multiple political, economic and humanitarian means to reshape its regional influence. As of now, at least half of the EU member states, including France, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, and Luxembourg, have announced that they recognize the state of Palestine.

The EU policy shift is the result of overlapping reality pressures. First, the U.S. diplomatic focus has shifted to the east, marginalizing European concerns in the Middle East affairs and even on the wider international stage. Brussels does not want to fully adhere to Washington, but hopes to find a ¡°European voice¡± between value positions and regional influences. Secondly, the outflow effect of conflict in the Middle East has directly affected European security. Refugee tide, extremism, energy supply and food security issues have continued to involve European domestic affairs. In the summer of 2025, the number of Mediterranean refugees arriving has risen again, raising the EU¡¯s public opinion to the risks of the conflict in Gaza. Again, the EU¡¯s relative influence in the global landscape has

History¡¯s lessons make it difficult for the European Union to bear.

Historically, Europe has never dominated the Middle East for a long time. During the Cold War, the main external force in the Middle East was the USSR, and although the European Community tried to intervene through diplomatic coordination, it lacked a unified voice. After the end of the Cold War, the EU gradually intervened in Middle East affairs through economic trade, humanitarian aid, mediation, such as the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

However, in the Iraq War, the Arab Spring in 2011 and the Syrian crisis, the EU's influence was relatively limited. During the Arab Spring in 2011, the EU focused on providing humanitarian aid and economic support; In 2016, the EU signed a refugee agreement with Turkey, showing the EU's "crisis management and control" orientation in regional governance. However, in the military and diplomatic fields, the EU has always been subject to differences and unanimous decision-making mechanisms among member states, and lacks unified action.

Christian Hannelt, a German Middle Eastern expert, said in his book, ¡°The Ring of Fire: How Europe lost the Middle East and recovered it,¡± that the Middle East is like a ring of fire burning many fires, and that Europe has political ambitions in the region but is ¡°too easy to succumb to the role given by the United States¡± in funding the U.S. peace process. Moreover, Europe has misjudged the situation in the Middle East, such as the ¡°Arab Spring¡± that has prevented Europe from taking action ¨C because the U.S. has been focused on fighting terrorism since September 11, 2001 ¨C and the outcome has been ¡°unbearable¡± for the entire EU.

Deutsche Welle reported that although the EU played a role in reaching the Iran nuclear agreement, the EU has been trading with Iran since the United States announced its withdrawal from the agreement in 2018 and the collapse of the INSTEX payment mechanism used to promote non-US dollar transactions with Iran. There is a lack of strong economic leverage in trade with Iran.

At the same time, the differences within the EU are also a problem that cannot be resolved. This originates from historical cultural differences and is closely linked to real interests. Based on different considerations such as religious and historical emotions, energy, trade, the EU member states have different relations with Israel and the Arab world. Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and other countries tend to deal with Israel with caution, emphasizing security and historical responsibilities; while Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium and other countries are more proactive, calling for Israeli actions to be restricted and to promote recognition of the Palestinian state. France seeks to maintain a balance between diplomatic mediation and real interests; Italy and Greece pay more attention to migration and energy security. This ¡°multisciplinary diplomacy¡± makes it difficult for the EU to quickly reach a

Furthermore, the EU¡¯s foreign policy requires the unanimous agreement of 27 countries, and the decision-making process tends to be compromising and conservative. Even in the context of rising public opinion and humanitarian pressures, structural barriers remain to reach consensus.

However, according to a report by the Global Times in Belgium, the recent years have shown signs of mitigation of differences between EU member states.On the one hand, humanitarian crises and the outbreak of conflict have prompted more countries to recognize the ¡°cost of silence¡±; on the other hand, the European Commission and the Agency for Foreign Affairs are promoting policy coordination through mechanical innovation, such as reviewing EU-ASEAN agreements and researching trade restrictions.These efforts, although not completely eliminating differences, indicate that the EU is gradually shaping a stronger joint position.

Is trying to enter the Middle East through multiple means

"Europe must get rid of its bystander role in Middle East affairs." Borrell, a Spanish politician and former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, published an article in the US magazine Foreign Affairs in June this year that the EU needs to formulate a stronger plan to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. "Europe seeks to play a role in Gaza." Radio France Internationale reported that the European Union is Palestine's largest aid donor and Israel's largest trading partner. This "middle-man" position highlights the EU's potential influence.

The EU is trying to enter the Middle East through multi-level approaches. First, to strengthen cooperation with Arab countries. The EU is aware that regional partners must rely on regional partners if they want to influence in the region. In recent years, political and economic dialogue between the EU and Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has been significantly enhanced. Last March, the EU-Egypt bilateral relationship was upgraded to a ¡°comprehensive strategic partnership¡± focusing on supporting Egypt¡¯s economic recovery, stopping illegal immigration and ensuring the security of natural gas supplies to the Mediterranean. The EU¡¯s cooperation with Jordan, Lebanon and other countries has focused on refugee resettlement and humanitarian assistance. Through development cooperation, climate projects and green transition investment, the EU is working to build a ¡°

The second is to maintain rules and order with the help of international law and multilateral mechanisms. The EU insists on promoting a political settlement within the framework of the United Nations and opposes any unilateral change of the status quo. No matter on Gaza, Syria or Yemen, the EU emphasizes the inviolability of international humanitarian law and calls for the establishment of an international investigation mechanism. Through "rule-shaping power", the EU hopes to establish regional influence at the moral and legal levels.

The European Union, an important economic and trade partner of Israel and the Arab countries, has policy leverages such as sanctions, aid, market access. Last month, the European Commission first proposed a partial suspension of trade preferences to Israel as a political signal; at the same time, Brussels is also looking at mechanisms to mitigate aid funding and conflict linkage in order to a policy transition to ¡°conditional aid and cooperation.¡±

The fourth is to advocate the ¡°alliance of wills¡± mechanism. In the face of the limitations of unanimous decision-making, some countries are actively advocating the establishment of a ¡°front mechanism¡± consisting of like-minded members to take the lead in diplomatic statements, humanitarian aid or ceasefire initiatives. Spain, Ireland and Belgium have repeatedly initiated the formation of ¡°action groups¡± to promote the unified voice of the EU at the UN level; France and Germany are exploring mechanisms of cooperation outside the EU framework to promote regional stability.

The EU¡¯s ¡°role shift¡± in the Middle East is the inevitable result of changing geopolitical landscapes and a realistic choice for Europe¡¯s pursuit of strategic autonomy. The EU¡¯s goal is not to dominate the situation through military intervention, but to shape a sustainable peace order in the Middle East with the combined power of ¡°rules, cooperation, assistance¡±. In the face of the complex and changing Middle East, whether Europe can truly the ¡°call to action¡± transition depends on whether it can consolidate consensus internally and gain trust externally.