European Commission: The EU's long-standing position on member states not having embassies in Jerusalem is unchanged

The European Commission has not received or seen any official notification of Hungary's intention to move its embassy to Jerusalem, a European Commission spokesman said on Friday. (The Times of Israel reported that the Hungarian government is preparing to make such a move. We wrote about this and the possible consequences here.)

However, the spokesperson indicated that the European Union has a long-standing position, stemming from a 1980 UN resolution, calling for all countries to withdraw their embassies from Jerusalem. Accordingly, all EU member states and the EU itself currently have diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv. The EU has repeatedly reiterated its firm commitment to a "negotiated and viable" two-state solution based on international law (i.e. the creation of an independent Palestine – ed.).

The Commission spokesperson recalled that the Heads of State and Government had said the same in 2017. The document "reiterates the EU's firm commitment to a two-state solution and in this context the EU's position on Jerusalem remains unchanged", and was unanimously approved by the Council (i.e. with the agreement of Viktor Orbán as well – ed.). Stano stressed that this is still valid, that no other decision has been made on the matter since then, and that there are few countries outside the EU that have a different position.

EU heads of state and government meet in the European Council, which is the highest political body where member states can consult. EU foreign policy is decided unanimously by all member states.

According to the Times of Israel, high ranking Israeli foreing ministry sources have linked the supposed intention of moving the Hungarian embassy to Orbán's desire to help Benjamin Netanyahu and his government deliver a diplomatic victory in the midst of the controversial overhaul of the judicial system. Peter Stano did not see any link between the Hungarian and Israeli rule of law situations, nor did he comment on media speculation on this issue.