Minister Asselborn Urges for Peace in the Middle East in Last EU Foreign Affairs Council

Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, participated in the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which was held on Monday 13 November 2023 in Brussels.

This meeting of the FAC was the last for Jean Asselborn, who has represented Luxembourg on 203 occasions at meetings of EU foreign ministers. In his capacity as Minister responsible for European Affairs, International trade, Immigration and Asylum, Jean Asselborn also participated in 187 meetings of the “General Affairs”, “CAE – Trade” and “Justice and Home Affairs” Councils.

The foreign ministers deepened their exchange on the situation in Israel, Gaza and the region. Minister Asselborn reiterated Israel's right to self-defence in accordance with international and humanitarian law. Luxembourg also called for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages still held by the terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

“At the same time, I remain deeply concerned by the severe deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. As of now, nearly 1.5 million civilians are displaced and thousands have died, more than 70% of them women and children. It is imperative that rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access is restored without delay. To this end, we must quickly establish humanitarian corridors and pauses, while working towards a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities,” the minister said.

“As the United Nations Secretary-General has said, the people of Gaza need immediate and lasting humanitarian assistance. In this regard, I support Cyprus' proposal to establish a maritime humanitarian corridor off the coast of Gaza, in addition to the corridor from the Rafah border crossing,” continued Minister Asselborn. While welcoming the fact that Israel has agreed to humanitarian pauses in the northern Gaza Strip, the minister stressed that it is essential that these pauses be extended without delay to the entire territory of the Gaza Strip.

Minister Asselborn reiterated: “The people of Gaza are not Hamas and cannot be held collectively responsible or punished for the horrors committed by the terrorists. I call on Israel to ensure the protection of the civilian population of Gaza at all times.”

To conclude, the minister highlighted: “The international community and the European Union must contribute to urgently relaunching the peace process in the Middle East and place it at the top of their agenda. We must never lose sight of the importance of finding a political settlement to this conflict which, for generations, has been a source of misery and sorrow for both Israelis and Palestinians. I am deeply convinced that the two-state solution remains the only possible option for lasting peace.”

Subsequently, the ministers discussed the latest developments related to Russian aggression against Ukraine. For Luxembourg, it was deemed important to keep support for Ukraine at the top of the European agenda. Thus, the minister called for the release of the eighth tranche of the European Peace Facility (EPF) and stressed the need to move forward on the twelfth package of sanctions in order to reduce Russian capacities to finance the war.

The meeting also addressed the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Following the FAC Council, a ministerial meeting between EU foreign ministers and their counterparts from the Western Balkans took place.