"Germany will reach a decision on whether to back European Union sanctions against Israel before a European Union meeting in Copenhagen in October, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on a visit to Madrid on Thursday. Speaking alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Merz said Israel's actions in Gaza were not proportional to its stated goals, but said Germany did not share the view that the actions amounted to genocide. He added that for Germany, the recognition of Palestinian statehood was not currently up for debate."
""We will reach a final opinion of the German government on these questions, which now need to be answered at the European level, in the coming days," Merz said. "We will discuss these issues again next week at the federal cabinet level. I assume that we will then have a position at the informal council meeting on October 1 in Copenhagen that will also be supported by the entire German government," he said."
Chancellor Friedrich Merz met Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid amid a major policy divide over Israel. Germany is one of Israel's staunchest supporters in Europe, while Spain is a vocal critic. Merz said Israel's actions in Gaza were not proportional to stated goals but said Germany did not share the view that the actions amounted to genocide. Merz said Germany would reach a final government opinion on potential EU sanctions in the coming days and would discuss the matter at the federal cabinet before the informal council meeting in Copenhagen on October 1. German lawmakers approved the 2025 federal budget.
Read at www.dw.com
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