- 'It's more complicity than anything else ... We don't have real leaders anymore in Europe at this point in time,' says European Parliament member
- 'Lebanon will be the next Gaza for sure. It's already happening ... Nobody says anything,' he warns
BRUSSELS
European inaction and alignment with US and Israeli policies risk leading to a "genocide in Lebanon," warned Belgian member of the European Parliament (MEP) Rudi Kennes, criticizing what he described as a collapse of independent European foreign policy.
Since Feb. 28, the US and Israel have conducted sustained airstrikes on Iran, killing over 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, while Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf states hosting US forces.
While Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the war as illegal, most leaders of the EU bloc as well as member state leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said nothing on the legality of the strikes, instead framing Iran's defensive response as destabilizing.
Many see this as demonstrating Europe’s diminished influence and credibility on the world stage, highlighting its continued inability to uphold its strategic interests or its own professed values of human rights and international law.
Speaking to Anadolu, Kennes said Europe has lost both credibility and moral authority on the global stage by failing to uphold international law and human rights standards in recent conflicts, particularly in Gaza and the broader region.
"It's more complicity than anything else," he said. "We don't have real leaders anymore in Europe at this point in time. They are just looking what the US decides, what Israel decides ... (they) don't even take a position."
Loss of credibility and authority
The Belgian lawmaker sharply criticized what he described as "double standards" in Europe's response to international conflicts, arguing that similar actions by different global actors are judged unequally.
Decrying the Israeli-US airstrike on a girls' elementary school in Iran on the first day of attacks, killing some 170 people, most of them schoolgirls, Kennes said: "Can you imagine (what would happen if Russian President Vladimir) Putin would do this tomorrow? It would be the biggest scandal in the world. The first comments I heard ... 'Oh, we are monitoring it.' What is there to monitor? Everybody knows who’s done it."
Such inconsistencies, he warned, have eroded Europe's standing globally.
"Who are we in the future to say to whatever regime, (to) put up our finger and say: 'You have to comply by the law. There are international standards, there’s human rights ...' We cannot anymore. We don't have this authority anymore," he said.
"The Global South and the rest of the world are looking at Europe and saying: 'Hey, where are you? What are you doing? You're complicit with everything.'”
Kennes argued that this loss of credibility could have long-term economic and geopolitical consequences, including diminished trust from international partners.
"Now we're totally moving into the camp of the aggressor and therefore, we will not play any role (in the region) anymore in the future. I'm very sure of that, because we have no leaders, except for Spain. They are the only country at the moment within the EU which still has credibility in the world, and they will be rewarded for that in the future," he said.
Lebanon will be 'next Gaza'
Kennes expressed particular concern about Lebanon, warning that current developments could mirror the devastation seen in Gaza in recent years.
He said that the justification of counterterrorism is being used to obscure broader military objectives. "Lebanon will be the next Gaza for sure. It's already happening ... Nobody says anything, because now they can put it under the umbrella of 'Hezbollah terrorism.'"
"When Israel and the US start bombing Iran, everybody shuts up, but the minute that they respond (retaliate), they say: 'Oh, this has to stop.' So even if you are a victim today, you're not allowed to defend yourself, because you will be considered the aggressor. This is a world upside down," Kennes added.
According to Kennes, such dynamics risk normalizing large-scale violence and displacement, potentially paving the way for what he described as another genocide in Lebanon.
He also noted the EU's failure to even recognize the severity of the situation in Gaza.
"You're starting by saying: Why didn't the EU do anything to stop the genocide? But before you are considering to stop the genocide, first you have to recognize that this is a genocide," Kennes said, adding that the bloc has failed to do even that.
'Netanyahu's war'
Kennes voiced deep concern about rising tensions in the Middle East, adding that current policies risk broadening the conflict further.
"Where will this end? It's only about escalation today. Is it in the interests of the people? I don't think so," he said.
He was particularly critical of US President Donald Trump, accusing him of misjudging the situation in Iran and dragging allies into a conflict without a clear exit strategy.
"What we see today in Lebanon and in Iran, that's not even the American agenda. This is Netanyahu's war. Trump was stupid to just follow him, and now he cannot get out anymore. I don't think he is even in the cockpit of this war anymore," Kennes argued.
He also raised concerns about what he characterized as a long-term geopolitical project involving territorial expansion by Israel, claiming that ongoing military actions could be part of a broader strategy for a so-called "Greater Israel," involving territorial ambitions far beyond the occupied West Bank and pre-1967 Israeli borders.
"They will bomb it until nobody can live there anymore. Then the troops will come in and say: 'We’ll create a security zone.' When the army is there, then comes the settlers. And the settlers will never go away, and they will get support from the US and so Europe will be silenced," he explained.
"The only problem is, Iran is still there. So Iran has to go away, and then they can do anything they like," he added.
EU should 'first apologize'
Kennes called for a fundamental shift in EU foreign policy, including greater independence from US positions and a renewed commitment to international law.
"What they should do is first apologize ... Apologize to the victims of the world for the last two or three years at least... And start, first of all, applying international law, but also living up to the values that you once said you had," he said.
He also urged European leaders to "create distance" from US and Israeli policies, arguing that such a move would help restore credibility.
"At least say: 'This is not okay.' Is this so much to ask?" Kennes stressed. "At the end of the day, if you're not complying or you're not willing to comply with international law, then everything is up for grabs."
Kennes also questioned who is effectively steering EU foreign policy, naming figures such as von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"Who is in charge of Europe today? Is it von der Leyen? Is it Costa, or is it Rutte? Because he's (Rutte) calling the shots now," said Kennes.
He accused European leaders of "running blindly" into escalating conflicts without a clear strategy or regard for the interests of European citizens.
Kennes further warned that Europe's diplomatic apparatus is effectively paralyzed. Criticizing the EU's foreign policy leadership, he said, "There is no foreign policy anymore. And if she (foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas) gets the mic, she starts pointing fingers and kicking everywhere she shouldn't. Where is the diplomacy?"
"This is a total bankruptcy of European politics," he stressed.
