De Croo whistles back at Lahbib: “Belgium remains a member of the EU group for recognition of Palestine”

Belgium is still a member of an EU leading group for the recognition of Palestine. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stated this on Thursday alongside Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib. She claimed the opposite last Tuesday.

“We are still members of that group.” In an answer to six parliamentary questions, Prime Minister De Croo (Open VLD) pulls the fuse on the recognition of Palestine. Our country supports such recognition in the longer term. It must be part of a peace process towards a two-state solution, De Croo explains. At a final informal meeting, the Prime Minister did not sign the final document. “Because as President of the Council of the EU it is our job to arrive at a common position,” Belgium kept quiet for a while.

The volley of parliamentary questions, five of the six from majority parties, follows a slip by Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (MR) in the parliamentary committee on Tuesday. News agency Belga noted that Lahbib stated that our country is no longer a member of that steering group. The committee’s report confirms this. The coalition would have “changed internally,” Lahbib said. This would leave only Spain, Slovenia and Ireland. The Spaniards would like to “force” recognition there, after which “the Prime Minister decided to withdraw Belgium from the group”, according to Lahbib.

“Misunderstood”

Lahbib feels “misunderstood”, she says in Parliament. She attacks the reporting of her statements. “The reporting sometimes makes a fool of the truth,” it now sounds. Because De Croo did not sign the final statement of the previous meeting, “it does not count as participation”, the minister’s spokesperson explains. Communication was therefore adjusted on Tuesday evening. Belgium had decided not to participate in “the last meeting” of the group, it was said.

Because the uncertainty continued, Lahbib was assisted by the Prime Minister in Parliament. “To create clarity together.” After De Croo’s response, Lahbib largely repeated what De Croo had said. For the recognition of Palestine, “our country is working on criteria, together with other countries.”