The crisis in the Middle East, the Franco-German vision for the next mandate and the upcoming EU elections were among the key topics discussed around Brussels this week.
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00:00Hello and welcome to State of the Union.
00:07I'm Stephan Grobe in Brussels.
00:09How to rein in the warring parties in the conflict between Israel and Hamas was once
00:15again on top of the EU diplomatic agenda this week.
00:19One proposal was to revive a European border assistance mission in the Gaza Strip.
00:25Another was a joint conference on how to implement a two-state solution.
00:30Another one was to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which regulates trade between the
00:36two sides.
00:38Meanwhile, despite decisions by two international courts, the violence continued.
00:44Decisions by the way that Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu criticized as new anti-Semitism,
00:50which prompted a sharp rebuke by the EU's foreign policy chief.
01:16Another top story this week was Emmanuel Macron's trip to Germany, the first state
01:21visit of a French president in 24 years.
01:25Macron enjoyed meeting ordinary people, posing for pictures and exchanging football jerseys
01:31with the German president.
01:35As if we needed a reminder that the Euro 24 kicks off in two weeks in Germany.
01:41His political messages were strongly pro-European, pro-French-German and anti-authoritarian,
01:49with Hungary's Viktor Orban clearly in mind.
01:52We must look around us at the fascination for authoritarian regimes, look at Europe,
01:59the illiberal moment we live in, where many look and say to themselves, finally, a few
02:06kilometres from here, finally, let's take the money from Europe, but forget the independence
02:15of the judges.
02:16Let's take the money from Europe, but forget the freedom of the press.
02:21Let's take the money from Europe, but forget the diversity of culture.
02:26Whether Macron's strong words will have an impact on the European elections next week
02:30remains to be seen.
02:32Polls suggest that Europe will tilt to the far right.
02:36Could this affect the EU foreign policy and diplomacy?
02:39Joining me now in our studio is Swen Biskup, political scientist at Ghent University and
02:45director of the Europe in the World program at the Egmont Royal Institute for International
02:50Relations in Brussels.
02:52Welcome to the program.
02:53Thank you.
02:54So, you're out with a new book on EU foreign policy called This is Not a New World Order.
03:01Europe rediscovers geopolitics from Ukraine to Taiwan.
03:05Tell us what exactly Europe has rediscovered.
03:09I think for a long time Europe forgot about geopolitics and then suddenly after the Russian
03:14invasion of Ukraine, we realised it's actually quite important to know where are the resources
03:21that I need to import, where are my export markets, where are my friends, where are my
03:24enemies, what are all the lines that connect them, because that creates specific vulnerabilities,
03:29so it's really key to know them.
03:31But maybe now we're overdoing it a little bit.
03:34Based on this, what role does Europe want to play?
03:37I remember in 2019 Ursula von der Leyen spoke about a geopolitical union.
03:44That's my point.
03:45I think it's really important that we know what our geopolitical situation is, but geopolitics
03:50is not strategy.
03:51You then still have to choose how you deal with these geopolitical problems.
03:57You try to solve them by going to war, you try to solve them by offering an association
04:03agreement.
04:04So my feeling is the EU lost the narrative a little bit.
04:07We say we want to be geopolitical, apparently meaning we want to be more assertive.
04:11I fully agree.
04:12But assertive for what purpose?
04:14Now governments come and go, but interests of countries never change.
04:19How about the EU?
04:20Did its interests change over the past five years?
04:23I don't think so.
04:25One of our main interests that we should not forget is to keep the world together.
04:30By that I mean avoid that the world falls apart again in two rival blocks that decouple
04:35from each other, because that would be an economic disaster for Europe in the first
04:39place.
04:40And I think it's important that we remember that if we can avoid it, we try to keep the
04:44world together, and it's definitely not in our interest to launch a new global confrontation
04:51or a new global Cold War.
04:53In just a few days, Europeans will go to the polls again.
04:57To what extent will the outcome of the election change the EU's foreign policy position?
05:03Very crucial is the composition of the European Parliament, because without a parliament you
05:07cannot make treaties.
05:10For example, China managed to antagonize the European Parliament entirely by sanctioning
05:16members of parliament.
05:18What would be the view of the new parliament on China?
05:21And will China be clever and say, well, those sanctions were against the previous parliament,
05:26we have a new parliament now, so we drop them?
05:28That would be my advice if China is serious about revamping the relationship.
05:33All right.
05:34Sven Biskup, political scientist and author of This Is Not a New World Order.
05:39Thanks for coming on the show today.
05:41Thank you.
05:42Now, before we go, here's a spectacular story from the art world.
05:48At Madrid's Prado Museum, a restored masterpiece by Italian Renaissance artist Caravaggio went
05:54on display to the public for the first time this week.
05:58Ecce Homo, Latin for Behold the Man, was thought to be lost until it resurfaced at an auction
06:04three years ago.
06:06The priceless painting was mistakenly attributed to an unknown artist and almost sold for 1,500
06:11euros when the Spanish government blocked the auction at the last minute on concerns
06:16it was actually a Caravaggio.
06:19The dark atmospheric canvas depicts a bloodstained Jesus wearing a crown of thorns, his hands
06:26tied just before his crucifixion.
06:29The painting was originally part of the private collection of the Spanish kings, then traded
06:34hands a lot, only to disappear from sight for almost 200 years.
06:40The new owner, whose identity was not revealed, was generous enough to lend it to the Prado
06:46for nine months, after reportedly buying the painting for 36 million euros.
06:54That's it for this edition.
06:55I'm Stefan Grober.
06:56Thank you for watching.
06:57Have an excellent week.