The EU calls on the US to reconsider the ban on Abbas and Palestinian officials participating in the UN Assembly

Following the decision by the US State Department led by Marcos Rubio not to allow Palestinian President Mahmud  Abbas and 80 Palestinian officials to participate in the UN General Assembly next week in New York, EU foreign ministers have asked US leaders to reconsider their decision, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas reported on Saturday.

Kallas has made this request following the meetingof ministers in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, .

Hours earlier, thePresident of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez , had conveyed his support to Abbas and reported this in a message posted on the X social network: "I have spoken to the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Abbas, expressing my strong support for Spain following the unlawful cancellation of visas to Palestinian representatives who were to participate in next week's UN meeting."

The head of the Spanish Government has stressed that "Palestine has the right to make its voice heard at the United Nations and in all international forums" and has also called for "an immediate cessation of attacks on civilians taking place in Gaza".

Pedro Sánchez has also called for "allowing humanitarian aid to enter" and has reiterated that "the two-state solution is the only way to peace".

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has described what happened as' unacceptable 'and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has recalled that 'a meeting of the General Assembly should not be subject to restrictions on access'.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris, for his part, has asked the EU for 'the strongest possible response'.

The US justifies its decision and Israel appreciates it.

To justify its decision to withdraw the visas, theUS State Department has accused the Palestinian authorities of "failing to honour their commitments" and "weakening their prospects for peace", as well as of "not systematically condemning terrorism" and avoiding negotiations with Israel.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,while expressing its "deep regret" at the decision, has denounced the "flagrant violation" of the 1947 UN Headquarters Agreement and urged Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Security Council and all UN Member States to halt the implementation of the resolution.

President Abbas himself has urged the Donald Trump administration to reconsider its decision to prevent him from attending the UN General Assembly.

Instead, Israel has publicly appreciated Washington's decision. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar conveyed his support to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump for "holding the PLO and the Palestinian Authority accountable."

Representativesof the United Nations have confirmed their hopes of reaching a solution and dialogue with the US State Department  and have recalled that "all diplomats and representatives entitled to travel to UN headquarters should travel freely".

This meeting next week is very important because France, the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia, among others, are planning to recognise the Palestinian State, a decision that the United States and Israel are opposed to as "damaging to peace" and "favourable to Hamas."

The EU has recognised that fragmentation among its members is creating a credibility crisis.

On the other hand, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, acknowledged at a press conference following the meeting that the obvious division between EU Member Statesin punishing Israel for its attacks on Gaza is a 'very serious problem' because the European Union's inability to make decisions is calling into question the usefulness of the organisation itself to its citizens.

"I am frustrated that nothing else can be done," added the High Representative, who stressed that the actions proposed by the European Union do not help Palestinian militias or the Islamist Hamas movement: "The narrative is false and perhaps part of the explanation of the problem: Israel is frustrating the chances of a two-state peace solution," he said.

Kallas has also lamented the failure of the initiative to exclude Israel from the Horizon Europe Research Fund.  "The option we proposed was relatively light and yet we did not get the necessary qualified majority. We have continued to discuss things and there are many proposals to convince even those countries that have not so far supported, but I am not very optimistic and we are not going to make a decision on it today," he acknowledged.

One of those countries opposed to sanctions is Germany , whose Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephule, has insisted in Copenhagen that his country will not support sanctions against Israel for the time being. Berlin has suspended part of its arms shipments to Israel, but has so far failed to support the sanctions proposed in Brussels.

Any sanctions against Israel should be adopted by a qualified majority, i.e. at least 15 of the 27 EU Member States, which account for at least 65% of the bloc's population.

while some EU countries, such as Germany and Austria, are reluctant to support sanctions, others, such as Denmark, Spain and Ireland, are pressing for a stronger stance.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has stressed that "we must move from words to deeds."  "Israel is a friend and the Israeli people too, but the current government is a problem," he said.