Israel and Europe are natural partners because of their democratic values and shared past, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday morning in a speech at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba.
“Europe and Israel are bound to be friends and allies,” said von der Leyen. “Because the history of Europe is the history of the Jewish people.”
The German politician, who has headed the European Union’s executive arm since 2019, spoke after being granted an honorary doctorate from the university.
“The strongest bond we share is our belief in democracy and in democratic values,” she said, praising the legacy and vision of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion.
Von der Leyen added that she, as a young girl, had been inspired by Golda Meir, who served as Israel’s prime minister from 1969 to 1974.
“Democracy has strengthened our special bond of friendship through the decades,” she added. “Today more than ever before, democracies like Europe and Israel should come closer together.”
Von der Leyen portrayed the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an assault on democracy itself, and praised Israel’s humanitarian aid and welcoming of some Ukrainian refugees.
She pivoted to Europe’s dangerous dependency on Russian natural gas and oil, and called for increased energy cooperation between Israel and Europe
“The Kremlin has used our dependency on Russian fossil fuels to blackmail us,” she said. “Since the beginning of the war, Russia has deliberately cut off its gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria and Finland, and Dutch and Danish companies, in retaliation for our support to Ukraine.”
But Moscow’s conduct “only strengthens our resolve to break free of our dependence on Russian fossil fuels,” she said, noting the EU was “exploring ways to step up our energy cooperation with Israel,” with work on an underwater power cable and a gas pipeline in the eastern Mediterranean.
“This is an investment in both Europe’s and Israel’s energy security,” she said.
In keeping with the European Commission view that natural gas — a fossil fuel — counts as green energy, von der Leyen said that Europe-Israel energy cooperation would help fight climate change.
After announcing in December that Israel would not pursue new gas exploration in 2022 in the name of developing renewable energy, Energy Minister Karine Elharrar has since backed off that policy, and now says Israel can help meet EU demand if it can deliver gas from its offshore reserves estimated at nearly 1,000 billion cubic meters.
In talks with Elharrar on Monday, von der Leyen reiterated “the EU need for Israeli gas,” the minister’s spokesperson said.
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