EC Briefing — Thursday, 18 June 2026

Key Points

• The high representative emphasizes the importance of dialogue and engagement with Israel.
• The EU remains committed to a constructive relationship with Israel as a vibrant democracy.
• The two-state solution is reaffirmed as the only viable path to lasting peace in the Middle East.
• The high representative is dedicated to her foreign policy mandate and maintains diplomatic engagement.
• No official denial has been made regarding the alleged comments by the high representative.
• The EU seeks to balance its stance on Iran's nuclear activities with regional security concerns.

Full Transcript

Transcribed automatically from EbS (Europe by Satellite) · English audio track · AI-generated · May contain errors · Verify before quoting

EU-Israel diplomatic tensions

Q: Get your take on Gideon Saar's comments. And then secondly, in her tweet, Kaja Kallas does not mention the comments that we reported on. I just want to know, does she stand by them, or can we expect anything from her in that regard? Thank you.

Spokesperson: Indeed. You will have seen that the high representative has already been vocal herself. She has been consistently, consistently clear about the importance of dialogue and engagement with Israel. She has maintained frequent diplomatic engagement with Foreign Minister Saar, with whom she regularly discussed all issues of common interest. The high representative and the EU remain committed to a constructive relationship with Israel. And as the high representative said herself, the EU and Israel have a lot that binds us. And let's recall that Israel is a vibrant democracy. Dialogue is the foundation of diplomacy, especially when differences arise. As to your second point, the high representative has been addressing the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, and this extensively already last Friday at the two-state solution conference in Paris, no later than last Monday at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, and last Tuesday in the European Parliament. The position has always been that the two-state solution remains the only viable path towards lasting peace in the Middle East. Thank you, Anwar.

Q: Magnus, you have a follow-up. I do. Thank you. A follow-up. This is now... I think we're now seeing the high representatives being locked out of two of the most crucial geopolitical issues facing Europe these days. Yesterday, we saw Costa being the one reaching out to Kremlin, and we today now see that Kaja Kallas is essentially locked out of dealing with the situation with some of the key partners in the Middle East. Can you speak a bit about what is the role of the high representative, if not doing foreign policy, on some of these crucial issues? Thank you.

Spokesperson: Thank you for your question, Magnus. We disagree with the premise of your question. I think Anwar has been very clear in his answer already to your first question. Anwar, if you have anything to add, please go ahead. I will allow myself to remind what is obvious to all of us, which are the treaties and Article 18 of the Treaty of the European Union, saying that the high representative conducts the foreign policy of the European Union. So I think you have your answer in terms of the role of the high rep. She's extremely committed, and she's delivering 100% on her mandate. Thank you. Thank you very much, Anwar. Moussa, I see you have a question. Is it on this same topic? We'll ask you, Moussa, as we come back to the room. Razieh.

Q (AFP): Thank you. Razieh Akoc, AFP News Agency. Forgive me, it's not usually my beat, so I hadn't been following it so closely. I had seen the Euractiv report, and I wasn't sure if there had been an official denial of whether Callas had made the apartheid remark that the Israeli minister is unhappy with. Thank you.

Spokesperson: Thanks much, Razieh. I think I have been already exhaustive about the issue, and I have nothing else to add to what I have said. Thank you. Thank you, Anwar. Do we have other questions on this topic? Andy.

Q (Financial Times): Yeah, it's Andy Bounce from the Financial Times. So if the Israeli foreign minister will not meet with our high representative, who should, is there anyone in the commission that will meet with them, and are there any member states? Would you seek solidarity from member states that their foreign minister shouldn't meet the Israeli foreign minister while they maintain this stance? Thanks.

Spokesperson: Thanks much for the question. I will not enter into any speculative scenario here. What I can say, stress, and reiterate again, and very strongly, is that the high representative values the dialogue and engagement that she has been having, and that she will be open to continue to have with Israel, and to continue having this engagement in that spirit that she has been having, and this respectfully and constructively. Thank you, Anwar. Jorge.

Q: Yes, hello. So just for our reporting, the European Commission is not denying that Kaja Kallas has made this comparison. You're not retracting the comment, the alleged comment that she made. Thank you.

Spokesperson: Thank you for your question, Jorge. Anwar has already answered. Unless someone has a question that is not hypothetical or leading on this topic, checking online, no questions. Therefore, I go to Moshe.

US-Iran memorandum understanding

Q: Yes, thank you very much, Olof. I'm sorry I was disconnected, but I would like to go back to a more broader topic of question, and that is about the memorandum understanding, which was surprisingly signed yesterday, I think, by the United States and Iran, following the G7 meeting in France. And if you read that G7 statement on geopolitical issues, which also the EU signed, it appears that this goes a bit beyond than the memorandum understanding, because while it welcomes memorandum understanding, despite all its flaws, it says that it should, I mean, prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear weapons. That's fine. But also it should tackle the threats related to Iran's regional ballistic activities. So my question is, how does the EU reconcile, I mean, this statement with the memorandum understanding, which is limited, I mean, only to nuclear issue and the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz? And secondly, and also importantly, do we know whether the EU has been invited by Trump and the United States or by Iran to participate in the coming talks on the follow-up agreement to the memorandum understanding in order to support a robust and comprehensive diplomatic solution, as it's stated in the G7 statement? Thank you.

Spokesperson: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mose. And I will also thank you for having also quoted the G7 statement, because indeed, that also gives a way forward to the...

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