The Deputy Director General of the Foreign Ministry and Head of the Ministry’s Center for Policy Research Ambassador Benny Dagan visited Brussels in September alongside the department directors Ariel Shafransky and Daniel Halevy Gotschild. The visit provided an opportunity to exchange views with European counterparts on the volatile situation in the region and to discuss challenges both Israel and the EU share and where they can benefit from each other’s experiences.
During their visit the Israeli delegation met with NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow and held briefings with the Forum of Heads of Missions to NATO and with ambassadors of the Political and Security Committee (PSC), conducted a round-table discussion with colleagues from the EEAS and exchanged views with researchers at the European Policy Center (EPC).
DDG Dagan related to the need to create stability in an unstable environment due to conflicts in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Yemen and ISIS activities. For Israel, this means protecting its core interests with minimum use of force and without being dragged into conflicts. At the same time Israel is being challenged by state and non-state actors on its immediate borders. However, Israel is working towards increasing cooperation with those neighbours who share the same interests.
While referring to Iran, Dagan mentioned the Israeli disappointment about the nuclear agreement, Iran’s current violations such as missile experiments that are being overlooked by the international community and its contribution to create further regional instability in Syria, Lebanon, the Gulf States, Yemen and the Gaza Strip.
European counterparts related to challenges of immigration and border control as well as the ongoing efforts to create a joint European security policy, EU Russia and EU US relations.
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