French historian says Europe weakened Ukraine by abandoning Gaza

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) — Jean-Pierre Filiu, a French historian at Sciences Po Paris, said in his weekly column in the daily Le Monde on Monday that Europe has weakened Ukraine by abandoning the Gaza Strip.

In his column titled "2025: The year Europe weakened Ukraine by abandoning the Gaza Strip," Filiu wrote that the EU is less equipped to resist US President Donald Trump’s challenges to international law in Ukraine after having tolerated similar violations in Gaza.

"We Europeans may have different languages and histories, but there is no European language in which 'peace' is synonymous with 'capitulation,' and 'sovereignty' with 'occupation," he wrote.

Recounting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s challenge of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over Ukraine’s sovereignty while also pointing to her visit expressing support for Israel, saying her pro-Israel stance trapped the EU “in an impasse.”

"The EU's 'double standard' between Ukraine and Gaza has weakened it in the face of Russia, without granting it any real influence in the Middle East," Filiu underscored.

He further pointed to von der Leyen's silence after Trump declared that the US would take control of the Gaza Strip, suggesting she hoped to win Washington’s favor on Ukraine by aligning with US policy on Gaza.

"The EU is founded on the rule of law, which has only magnified the disastrous impact of its inability to defend legal principles with equal force in Ukraine and the Middle East. The White House took the EU's silence on Gaza for what it was: a confession of weakness that fueled further American provocations, even within Europe itself," Filiu added.

He also stressed that the bloc "proved incapable" of taking any measures against Israel while it had already adopted several rounds of sanctions against Russia.

Filiu added that divisions among EU member states over the two-state solution had created a “stalemate,” forcing France to seek support outside the bloc to revive diplomatic efforts.

"The year 2025 will go down in history as the year when, by aligning itself with the US on Gaza, Europe gravely weakened Ukraine's resistance. The worst part is that many European leaders still do not realize it," he added.