The EU and Middle East Peace

We've mentioned many times how the Roman Empire of the last days (aka the EU) will most likely become involved in the final negotiations and quite possibly, if not probably, (based upon speculation of Daniel 9:27) will assume the task of border control. It seems likely that the only way to "confirm" the covenant will be to impose peace-keeping forces in the region - and that is based on the fact that previous agreements resulted in failure due to ensuing violence.

There must be a military presence in order to prevent full-scale violence and to secure the newly formed borders. This military force would also need to be an "international" (non-U.S., non-Israeli) force. In previous reports we have watched the genesis of such forces within the EU that are already being put to use.

Today, we see more progress towards this goal. The EU commissioner for Enlargement and the ENP (European Neighborhood Policy), Steven Fule, is now having a lot to say about Israeli-EU relationships and there are some interesting nuggets from his comments to be reviewed:

In this article, Mr Fule writes a commentary about his thoughts regarding Israel:

The EU and Israel: Facing the challenges together

Note these interesting quotes in the context of what we know is coming prophetically:

DUE TO the intensity of our ties, in 2008 we decided to upgrade the relations to enhance our ability to achieve common goals. This decision is yet to be realized. There is an inescapable political element. A decisive breakthrough in the peace negotiations will pave the way to moving ahead with the upgrade.

The EU is fully engaged in supporting the Middle East peace process.

Its commitment to Israel’s security is clear and firm, as is its belief that a peaceful resolution of the conflict can only result in two states living side-byside in peace, security and prosperity, based on the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both.

There is no alternative to negotiations between the parties, and the EU is fully engaged on the ground, as well as at political level, to help find a solution.

Formidable challenges lie ahead of Israel, and the EU is prepared to provide all the support necessary to overcome them. Our cooperation so far has helped achieve important results, but has yet to reach its full potential.

What matters at the end of the day is that the EU and Israel cooperate in a spirit of mutual trust for the benefit of their citizens.

To summarize the germane points:

- "A decisive breakthrough in the peace negotiations will pave the way"

- "The EU is fully engaged in supporting the Middle East peace process"

- "Peaceful resolution of the conflict can only result in two states living side-byside in peace, security and prosperity, based on the 1967 borders"

- "The EU is fully engaged on the ground"

- "The EU is prepared to provide all the support necessary"

Very interesting indeed.

Also note, his comment that Israel's prospect for an upgraded relationship with the EU will have to await a "decisive breakthrough" in the peace process. What, exactly does this mean? He also described that "in 2008 we decided to upgrade our relationships to enhance our common goals" and also noted that "this decision is yet to be realized."

So what exactly is the "decision to be realized"?

He then proceeded to describe the EU's vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace by "two states living side-by-side in peace, security and prosperity, based on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital of both."

So who confirms such a deal? Who serves as the peace-keeping ground troops in order to keep any peace deal intact?

Stay tuned. This is getting extremely interesting.