The European Union’s top diplomat in Israel is openly conceding that the relationship between the EU and Israel has deteriorated significantly — and the situation grew even more tense just days after his candid remarks became public.
EU Ambassador to Israel Michael Mann described the relationship as “a bit challenging at the moment” in comments made to The Media Line. Shortly after, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced he was cutting off all communication with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, following reports that during a visit to Mexico, Kallas compared Israel to the apartheid regime that once governed South Africa.
“I am grateful to the many European elected representatives who condemned this grave statement,” Sa’ar said in a statement issued Thursday. “However, to date, no denial, clarification, or response has been issued by her regarding this severe statement.” Sa’ar added that ties would remain severed “until [Kallas] retracts the blood libel she directed at the world’s only Jewish state, which is also the only democracy in the Middle East.”
Mann, who spoke with The Media Line the previous Tuesday, was clear that the EU’s official position does not characterize Israel as an apartheid state.
Mann arrived in Israel in September 2025, shortly following the first Iran war in June of that year, and was present to experience the ballistic missile attacks that came during a second clash in the spring of 2026. Speaking through a Zoom call, he acknowledged that “a problem really has developed” between Israel and the EU since October 7, 2023, during which Israel has been engaged in a two-and-a-half-year, seven-front conflict that includes fighting Hamas in Gaza.
“There was growing public and political concern in European countries about the way the war was being waged in Gaza,” Mann said. “We were of the belief that, as time went on, there was too much collateral damage, too many civilian victims … The relationship has become rather strained as a result of that.”
Around the time Mann — who previously served as ambassador to Iceland — took his post in Israel, the president of the European Commission put forward a series of measures intended to pressure Israel to scale back its Gaza campaign and limit civilian casualties. Many of those proposals have remained on the EU foreign ministers’ agenda ever since but have not been formally adopted.
“We have had a problem in Europe actually agreeing to those measures, but the fact that those measures are on the table has upset the Israeli government,” Mann explained. “There’s a lot of rhetoric flying backward and forward. We see messages coming out from the Israeli government that are extremely critical of certain European countries and of the actions of the European Union.”
Among the proposed measures were recommendations to partially suspend trade-related provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and calls to impose sanctions on specific Israeli ministers described as “extremist.”
Mann noted that as Israel heads toward its October 2026 election period, the language being used by both sides has grown increasingly sharp. He pointed specifically to recent allegations from Israel’s Foreign Ministry claiming the EU is directly funding terrorism — a charge Mann flatly denies.
“We need to try to tone down the rhetoric a little bit and try to find a way out of the impasse,” Mann told The Media Line. “We have so much in common, and we have so many shared interests.”
The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner and second-largest investor. Israel also participates in several EU programs, including Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+, which give Israeli students access to study opportunities in Europe. Deep cultural and family ties further connect Israelis and Europeans.
Mann was careful to point out that the EU is made up of 27 countries, and opinions vary widely among them.
“The situations are very different from country to country,” Mann stressed. “There’s a little bit of misunderstanding on both sides. Maybe my job is to try to overcome some of that.”
Even as cooperation continues, new friction points keep emerging. Several EU member states have recently renewed calls to restrict imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The EU’s executive body has faced months of pressure to put forward a formal proposal, but has been deadlocked. Just last week, the European Commission announced it would present options ahead of the next ministerial meeting scheduled for July 13, according to European media reports.
Mann explained that passing such sanctions would require approval from at least 55% of EU member states representing at least 65% of the bloc’s total population.
The Commission has moved slowly on trade-restriction recommendations in part because the Council has been unable to achieve the qualified majority needed to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Despite that, the EU last month did move forward with sanctions against a small number of individuals and groups it deemed to be extremist settlers, including the settler think tank and advocacy organization Regavim and its director-general, Meir Deutsch. Canada enacted similar sanctions the following week.
Mann told The Media Line that the sanctions were mischaracterized as an attack on Israel as a whole.
“It’s not an attack on Israel,” Mann said. “They’re not sanctions on Israel. They are sanctions on individuals and organizations that we believe have been responsible for sponsoring unjustified, illegal, violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. We have a very thorough system for deciding how sanctions are imposed.”
He went on to describe the process: “First, you have to get data from open sources. There’s no intelligence data. It’s all information that is available from open sources. It goes to the lawyers in the European Council of Ministers, who examine whether it is legally watertight, and then, of course, it has to be agreed unanimously by all 27 countries. So there are many checks and balances. Anyone who is subject to sanctions also has the right to challenge them in court.”
Mann also pointed out that the number of Israeli organizations sanctioned is considerably smaller than the EU’s list of Palestinian groups and other terrorist organizations that have faced similar measures.
The ambassador also addressed the EU’s practice of holding Israel to a higher standard than some neighboring countries. He explained that when the EU and Israel signed an association agreement 25 years ago, Article 2 specifically established that respect for human rights and democratic principles is a core element of their partnership.
Because of that framework, Mann said, “there is a framework for our relationship with Israel that you don’t have with countries like Syria, or whatever … We always say that Israel is a country that shares our values, and sometimes … we fear that that is not the case anymore.”
He pushed back on the idea that Israel is unfairly singled out, calling that characterization “not entirely true.”
A recent report from the Jewish People Policy Institute, however, offered a different perspective. An analysis published by Euractiv by JPPI Senior Fellow Sharon Pardo examined more than 24,000 official statements, press releases, and diplomatic communications issued by the European External Action Service between 2017 and April 2026. The analysis found that 4% of those documents concerned Israel — a disproportionately high share.
The JPPI report also found that 38% of EEAS statements about Israel were negative, while only 13% were positive and 49% were neutral. After the October 7 massacre, the share of negative statements climbed from 29% to nearly 46%.
Pardo noted that more than half of all EEAS statements about Israel referenced the two-state solution or the creation of a Palestinian state. Mann confirmed this remains a core disagreement between Israel and the EU. “We are very passionate believers in the two-state solution,” Mann insisted, even as Israel’s Knesset has “firmly rejected” Palestinian statehood and many surveys suggest Palestinians themselves oppose the concept.
“We believe that the only way to ensure peace and security for Israel and also for the Palestinians is to find, in the long term, some sort of solution where there are two states that can live side by side in peace and security,” he said.
Mann acknowledged that while the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was once viewed as a self-contained issue, there is growing recognition that any lasting resolution will need to be embedded within a broader regional framework. He pointed to the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Bahrain — signed nearly six years ago — as an example of agreements that have held up despite regional turmoil. He also noted that just before October 7, Israel and Saudi Arabia had been exploring normalization, and he believes that possibility is back on the table.
“There is hope and optimism that the two-state solution … can become a reality as part of a kind of regional security arrangement,” Mann told The Media Line.
On the topic of the memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran, Mann said the EU has long been “very concerned” about Iran’s treatment of its own people, as well as its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Mann previously served as chief spokesperson for the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, during the negotiations that produced the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He said he continues to believe a negotiated agreement is necessary.
“Obviously, the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz had a very damaging effect on the European economy,” Mann said. “So, we are very happy that there has now been an agreement, an initial agreement. We are happy that the war is over, and we just hope that this will lead to an agreement in the end that will tick the boxes.”
He added, however, that the ayatollahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps still “very much run” Iran, meaning serious challenges remain on that front as well.
With three years remaining in his posting, Mann said he is committed to making headway in rebuilding the relationship between Jerusalem and Brussels.
“I would like to see progress over the next three years,” Mann concluded. “I’m trying to reach out to as much of Israeli society as I possibly can while I’m here, and I’m finding it very fascinating. What an amazing, diverse country you have here, and I’m thoroughly enjoying my job here, despite all the challenges.”
