Ireland, Spain and Norway have broken with the majority of European states by formally recognising Palestine as an independent state. This follows the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados that did the same earlier this year, bringing the number of UN members that recognise Palestine to 143 out of 193.
On May 10, the UN general assembly adopted a resolution giving new rights to Palestine within the organisation and calling on the security council to admit it as a full member. This has not happened yet because the US keeps vetoing the decision.
But, unlike the vast majority of UN member states that supported the resolution, most EU members did not. Indeed, still, most European states do not recognise a Palestinian state, and the war in Gaza has made the differences in how EU member states treat Palestine obvious. As a result, Spain’s wishes for a joint recognition by EU member states have not been possible. Such big decisions require consensus – and currently there isn’t one among EU governments.
