European Parliament’s Left accuses von der Leyen of double standards in Turkey
In Turkey, The Left group in the European Parliament accused European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of applying double standards in foreign policy. As Anadolu Agency reports, the statement was released after von der Leyen’s State of the European Union address on Wednesday.
Criticism over Ukraine and Israel
The group said that the European Commission president rightly condemned so-called double-tap strikes on civilians in Ukraine, but does not apply the same approach to Israel. The Left called Israel one of the main perpetrators of such attacks against unarmed civilians.
Representatives of the group also drew attention to von der Leyen’s statement that there is no place in the European Union for glorifying war criminals. In their view, the European Commission has still not taken measures that would help bring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a court in The Hague.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Sanctions and social policy
In her 2025 State of the European Union address, von der Leyen called the situation in Gaza unacceptable and announced proposals for sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers and settlers. She also proposed partially suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
According to the agency, the European Union has still not imposed sanctions against Israel as a state and has not suspended the agreement. At the same time, restrictions were approved against violent and extremist settler organizations and their leaders.
The group’s co-chairs, Manon Aubry and Martin Schirdewan, separately criticized von der Leyen’s emphasis on Europe’s competitiveness and deregulation. In their view, the European Commission prioritizes economic and defense policy and does not offer sufficient measures to address the cost of living, housing, and social inequality.
