{"id":10880,"date":"2025-08-12T15:54:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:54:45","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-08-12T15:54:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T12:54:45","slug":"eu-staff-clash-with-commission-over-right-to-protest-gaza-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/eu-staff-clash-with-commission-over-right-to-protest-gaza-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"EU staff clash with commission over right to protest Gaza policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

EU staff in Brussels are in an escalating conflict with the European Commission over their right to protest the bloc’s stance on Israel.<\/p>\n

A growing number of employees argue that the EU’s failure to pressure Israel for allegedly committing war crimes in Gaza makes it impossible for them to perform their duties without violating EU and international law.<\/p>\n

An official, who wished to be identified only as Ramona for fear of professional repercussions, told<\/a><\/span> POLITICO<\/em> that EU institutions are imposing “complicity” on employees and “suppressing conscientious resistance and delaying meaningful action, in violation of their moral and legal obligations.”<\/p>\n

The EU’s own diplomatic arm has accused Israel of violating its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel trade agreement and has threatened to remove the country from both its favorable trade relations and the Horizon research-sharing program.<\/p>\n

However, European leaders have not yet agreed on either measure, drawing scorn from critics who say Brussels is not taking its own agreements seriously.<\/p>\n

The Commission argues that EU foreign policy is a matter for national governments and has warned its employees to stay out of politics.<\/p>\n

Commission spokesperson Arianna Podest\u00e0 described the internal backlash over the EU’s refusal to sever ties with Israel as “political in nature” and stated that staff must “perform their duties and obligations impartially, loyally, and neutrally.”<\/p>\n

She noted that EU officials can use internal tools to protest, such as letters, staff unions, and dialogue with managers, but said, “The workplace, the administration’s premises, and the work tools made available to staff by the administration are not appropriate places for activism for or against specific political purposes.”<\/p>\n

Podest\u00e0 also stated that internal letters sent by staff to their superiors should not be shared with the public, adding that the Commission will actively assess any situation where officials are thought to have violated their obligations.<\/p>\n

However, protesters have questioned the value of the “internal tools” mentioned by Podest\u00e1, as these were the resources they often turned to first.<\/p>\n

Since late July, about 1,500 officials out of the institution’s 32,000 employees, ranging from low-level analysts to senior cabinet members, have signed an open letter highlighting the deteriorating conditions in the besieged territory and stating that famine-related deaths will increase “exponentially” if the EU does not pressure Israel to allow more aid and food to enter.<\/p>\n

Some officials are also considering going on strike to force EU institutions to take a bolder stance against the opposition of European governments.<\/p>\n

But according to four people familiar with the matter, unions are divided on the issue of Israel and are hesitant to support them, while protesters are unsure of the potential legal and professional consequences.<\/p>\n

These individuals said that some protesters believe a strike could be lawful if they argue they are trying to compel the EU to fulfill its fundamental international human rights obligations, which officials are bound to uphold.<\/p>\n

An internal memo sent to EU leadership last month by the pro-Palestinian internal solidarity group “EU Staff for Peace,” seen by POLITICO<\/em>, stated that some forms of protest have been met with “intimidation” tactics.<\/p>\n

These tactics include physical violence by security guards, unfair termination of contracts, and suppression of internal petitions.<\/p>\n

The group said that in one incident, seven officials wearing “No to genocide” T-shirts were forcibly removed from the European Council’s Europa canteen by security guards, with one having their arm twisted and another being forced to delete videos of the protest from their phone and the phone’s trash bin.<\/p>\n

The letter also mentioned the non-renewal of contracts for unnamed protesters and others being forced to resign; the banning of a pro-Palestinian internal survey that had gathered 1,514 employee responses in less than 48 hours without explanation; and the presence of Israeli Colonel Moshe Tetro, a senior defense official accused of war crimes by the Brussels-based NGO Hind Rajab Foundation, at the staff entrance of the Commission headquarters on June 25.<\/p>\n

Podest\u00e1 denied claims that protesters were being intimidated or forced to resign for reasons other than “service needs and individual performance.”<\/p>\n

A European Council spokesperson confirmed the removal of its staff from the Europa canteen and reiterated the Commission’s characterization of the protest as “political.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EU staff in Brussels are in an escalating conflict with the European Commission over their right to protest the bloc’s stance on Israel. A growing number of employees argue that the EU’s failure to pressure Israel for allegedly committing war crimes in Gaza makes it impossible for them to perform their duties without violating EU […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[12074,7546,11002,12073,12077,12075,2518,805,1334,12076,958,3820,812,1322,1068],"class_list":["post-10880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-arianna-podesta","tag-brussels","tag-eu-foreign-policy","tag-eu-staff","tag-eu-staff-for-peace","tag-eu-israel-trade-agreement","tag-european-commission","tag-european-union","tag-gaza","tag-horizon-program","tag-human-rights","tag-international-law","tag-israel","tag-protest","tag-war-crimes"],"yoast_head":"\nEU staff clash with commission over right to protest Gaza policy - 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