From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
European Union to resume Association Council meetings with Israel
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
The European Union Foreign Affairs Council has decided to resume the Association Council meetings with Israel, new EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas announces, after meeting the EU foreign ministers in Brussels. No date has been set.
The Association Council, which last convened in 2022 with then-foreign minister Yair Lapid, is a meeting that is meant to occur annually between Israel and the EU to cover matters of mutual concern.
The Foreign Ministry calls the development “an important step in the relationship between the EU and Israel,” and says the meeting will “express the intention to open a new page of cooperation and instructive dialogue between Israel and the EU.”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Kallas earlier this month in Malta.
Association Council meetings include all 27 EU foreign ministers, meaning that the Irish Tanaiste Micheal Martin will likely attend. Sa’ar announced this week he was closing Israel’s embassy in Dublin, citing the Irish government’s “antisemitic” policies and ostensible encouragement of antisemitism.
The Times of Israel Community.