It seems trivial to talk about the European Union’s reputation at this moment but it does matter. As Israel geared up to drop countless bombs on Gaza, teed up a ground invasion, and used dehumanising, genocidal language such as “children of darkness” and “the law of the jungle”, any decent, peace-loving person was rightly horrified about what would obviously follow. Someone needed to shout stop.
America wasn’t going to do that because its policy on supporting Israel is clear. When Russia invaded Ukraine the EU stood steadfast: Russia was an aggressor, breaching international law all over the place, and the intention was that Putin would be brought to justice. Why then does the European Union turn that approach on its head when it comes to Israel? The aggressor doesn’t matter. The actions and the law do.
For the first time in my life I am hearing heightened anti-EU sentiments from Irish peers who of course believe in the European Union, but feel bamboozled and betrayed by the approach the EU seemed to take because Ireland is the EU too.
Why did Ursula von der Leyen think it appropriate to fly to Israel and stand shoulder to shoulder with politicians who are saying the most appalling things about Palestinians? Von der Leyen does not have a remit to unilaterally represent the European Union on foreign policy. That is something that is decided by the leaders of the EU’s 27 countries. It is not her mandate. Von der Leyen is the president of the European Commission. She is not the king of Europe.
There is a difference between acting fast and reacting recklessly. This war – which is actually a horrific terrorist attack met with untethered, murderous and vengeful state-sanctioned slaughter – is making people’s heads spin, not just because of the horrendous acts unfolding but also because of how it is being framed. Many people feel gaslit by world leaders who claim to stand up for human rights, international law and decency, yet are spinning a narrative that feels topsy turvy. Propaganda is everywhere, and people are consuming content from partisan social media channels.
The apparent moral code of the European Union is existentially underpinned by the tacit agreement – and assumption – that the entity is guided by common “values”. Where were these values when von der Leyen was standing with Israeli president Binyamin Netanyahu, a man whose own people have been protesting?
Post-Brexit support for the European Union in Ireland – already extremely high – increased. In 2022, support for continued membership rose from 84 per cent to 88 per cent. This means that there is no political entity more popular in Ireland than the European Union.
We all know the reasons why people in Ireland support our membership of the European Union. Our membership is incredibly important, and everyone also knows the EU isn’t perfect. There are serious issues, including moral ones, particularly with regards to the EU’s appalling approach to the migration crisis which has seen a never-ending trail of suffering and death in the Mediterranean. For many watching von der Leyen’s actions from Ireland, given our own history, a sense of dread descended. It seemed that the EU’s reflex in this instance – at least the reflex articulated by von der Leyen – was an intensely colonialist one which ignores the subjugation, oppression, dehumanisation and murder of Palestinians.
I feel that von der Leyen has damaged the European Union’s reputation in Ireland, particularly amongst younger people, who – along with younger people the world over - are viewing geopolitics through a different lens than older generations. The emerging and now embedded global political youth discourse offers a stinging critique of capitalism (intersecting with environmentalism), and centres anti-racism, anti-imperialism, and seeks to expose the legacy and consequences of colonialism, which is a European legacy. Ireland’s specific experience of colonialism makes us unique in the EU to think differently.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is right to say that “the initial response from quite a number of European leaders in the days after the Hamas attack on Israel almost appeared to give Israel carte blanche. It wasn’t tempered by a call for restraint, wasn’t tempered by saying that Israel has a right to defend itself, but within the confines of international human rights.” This is such a normal thing to say yet as a European leader he is an outlier.
It is now also wildly, terribly evident how gravely our accelerated culture of reaction, hyperbole, disinformation, and performative posturing has infected geopolitics. The US, UK and the EU are in a “move fast and break things” moment, ignoring facts and producing soundbite content as policy. Joe Biden got on his plane with a schedule changing in real time and spouted what sounded like Trumpisms about “the other team”. Von der Leyen postured, an eye-widening stance of misplaced performative allyship. Israeli officials edited social media posts to manipulate “facts”.
The only sane position is to call for an end to the killing, for humanitarian aid and for a ceasefire. Seeing leaders reject peace – the very thing the European Union was built to foster and protect – shatters trust. I think many people feel like reality has turned on its head, and this disorientation will have consequences everywhere. After all, the European Parliament elections are only around the corner.