Europe has 'high hopes' for President Herzog, EU official says
Israel's president met with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in a closed meeting on Wednesday.
Europe has high hopes for President Isaac Herzog, a European Union official told Maariv on Wednesday morning at the start of the Israeli president's first visit to the European Commission in Brussels.
"The visit is taking place at a time when the policies of Israel's new government, and its attitude towards Europe, are still unclear," the official added.
"We are aware of Herzl's unique position, despite the limitations of his role."
On Wednesday, Herzog met with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in a closed meeting at which no journalists were present, and just one camera crew was permitted to attend.
During the regular EU Commission session on Monday of this week, the Union's foreign ministers sent a message to Israel, when they were scheduled to attend an informal lunch with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, at the end of which no official announcement was made, due to the opposition of several countries, primarily Hungary.
However, several ministers, including Josep Borrell, declared their commitment to a two-state solution during the lunch. Luxembourg foreign minister Jean Asselborn demanded formalizing the dialogue with the PA at a formal level.
Dialogue between Israel and the EU
Dialogue between Israel and the EU's foreign ministers was renewed by Yair Lapid during his time as foreign minister, but in contrast to him, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has yet to contact his European counterparts and instead said that he will meet with them on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference next month.
The EU is waiting to see if the relationship between themselves and Israel will return to the state of relative stagnation that was seen during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's previous term and was encouraged by Herzog's statements regarding the importance of the EU-Israel relationship.
However, pro-Palestinian elements have started a renewed pressure campaign which states that Europe "will be forced to be disappointed with Israel again and start real action to promote a solution in the region and condemn Israel's policy.
Overnight on Wednesday, unknown people painted several crossings in Brussels with the colors of the Palestinian flag ahead of Herzog's visit. Among other places, they were painted near both the European Commission and the Israeli Embassy.
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