EU making itself irrelevant in Middle East, Andrews says

Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews has said that the European Union is making itself irrelevant in the Middle East, as tensions in the region soar.

The war between Israel and Gaza has now escalated into a wider regional conflict, with Israel now at war with Iran and the United States bombing Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

“The EU is again irrelevant to a crisis in the Middle East. President von der Leyen led the embarrassment of the EU at the recent G7 summit, giving President Trump an effective green light to attack Iran, but getting nothing in return on Ukraine or trade,” the Dublin MEP said.

Calling Trump’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities “reckless,” Andrews said, “the EU cannot stand such blatantly illegal international acts and President von der Leyen must answer for her handling of this crisis.”

“US intelligence itself only weeks ago confirmed that Iran was not moving toward weaponisation of its nuclear programme. Yet this position was reversed by the Trump appointed Director of National Intelligence, just ahead of these US strikes on Iran.”

Andrews says the affair has shades of the build-up to the Iraq war in 2003.

“This U-turn under pressure from President Trump was clearly political and echoes President Bush’s justification for attacking Iraq in 2003,” he noted.

“The international community did address the Iran nuclear issue in 2015 with a painstakingly negotiated agreement, coordinated with the EU, however, it was President Trump who withdrew from that multilateral deal in 2018.”

“Since then, Iran’s regime has taken seriously regressive steps, and I have called for stronger EU action against the Iranian mullahs but these strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities risks an outbreak of regional war.”

Andrews said that while the war between Israel and Iran is now commanding global attention, along with America’s seeming intervention in the war, he said that Israeli actions in Gaza are “largely ignored” by the EU.

“This crisis should not distract us also from the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and further occupation of the West Bank, which again President von der Leyen has largely ignored,” he said.

“If Iran’s nuclear facilities are now destroyed, they will surely quickly re-build. The most effective and sustainable way to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon is a return to the international and legal IAEA process.”

The European Council summit will take place today, and Andrews called on EU leaders to sanction Israeli trade with Europe.

“The EU must stop making itself irrelevant in the Middle East, and finally act by sanctioning Israeli trade with Europe,” he said.