Spain, Ireland, Slovenia plan to recognize Palestine on May 21: EU’s Borrell

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said late Thursday that Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia plan to recognize a Palestinian state on May 21.

He was asked about the date by Spanish broadcaster RNE after Ireland’s public broadcaster suggested that was the plan.

Borrell said he believed May 21 would be the date because Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told him and because on Thursday Slovenia initiated the political proceedings to recognize Palestinian statehood.

“And probably, after that, there will be more because Belgium was considering it, but has delayed the decision as it seeks more countries to join it,” Borrell said.

Other EU nations including Malta and Norway have also recently said they want to recognize a Palestinian state when it is possible.

However, the governments of Spain and Ireland have stopped short of confirming a date.

On Thursday, Spain’s Albares said that although he could not confirm May 21, he emphasized that the decision has been made to recognize statehood “soon.”

Irish leader Simon Harris also refused to commit to the date when asked but is promising to make the move soon.

“There is never a wrong time to do the right thing and the right thing to do right now is to recognize the state of Palestine,” Harris said at a news conference in Dublin on Thursday. “You cannot say you believe in a two-state solution and not recognize that there are two states.”

Meanwhile, the Slovenian government aims to send a formal request to parliament to recognize the State of Palestine before June 13.

May 21 would put a coordinated recognition right before the European Union election campaign begins.

The EU foreign policy chief applauded countries moving to recognize a Palestinian state in a public talk he gave in Madrid on Thursday, saying the idea is “rooted in the principles of defending human rights.”

“It’s great that those who really believe in a two-state solution are going further than just talking about it,” said Borrell.

During the RNE interview, Borrell noted that the recognition is largely “symbolic,” adding: “It is more than recognizing a state, it is recognizing the will for this state to actually exist.”

Already, nine of the 27 EU states recognize Palestine, with Sweden being the latest to do so in 2014.

In recent weeks, the Caribbean countries – Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Bahamas – moved to recognize Palestine as a state. Now, all of the 14-member Caribbean Community holds a united position on the issue.

On Friday, the UN General Assembly is expected to vote on a resolution to favorably reconsider its request to become the 194th member of the UN.