Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas at a press conference in Copenhagen on August 30, 2025. EMIL NICOLAI HELMS / VIA REUTERS
When Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, announced a strategic review of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel on May 20, she not only caught Israel by surprise but also brought the 27 member states back to the forefront in the region, launching lengthy negotiations to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Three months later, while “there are more trucks getting into Gaza with humanitarian aid. There are more border crossings opened than before. There are vital reparations of critical infrastructure. There is fuel being provided. There are things that are improved,” it is “not enough,” the European official acknowledged on Saturday, August 30, during an informal meeting of foreign ministers in Copenhagen, Denmark.
“Israel’s announcement that Gaza City is now a combat zone threatens to worsen the humanitarian situation,” said the Estonian official. Like her, most ministers deplored the situation in the Palestinian territory. “It is absolutely horrible,” said Swede Maria Malmer Stenergard. “We are at a loss for words,” added Luxembourg’s Xavier Bettel. The situation in Gaza is an “absolute tragedy,” said France’s Jean-Noël Barrot. “It is time to move from words to action,” said Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister.
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