EU foreign policy chief reportedly compared Israel to apartheid South Africa in closed meetings

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas privately compared Israel to apartheid-era South Africa during meetings in Mexico, according to a Euractiv report. Kallas, the former prime minister of Estonia, was part of a senior EU delegation to Mexico from May 20 to 22.

The report said that in confidential talks with Mexican government representatives, Kallas described a visit she made last year to South Africa and the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, then likened Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and Judea and Samaria to South Africa’s system of racial segregation. Diplomats who attended the meetings told Euractiv that her remarks went beyond official EU policy.

One diplomat said, “The European Union criticizes Israel and supports a two-state solution, but the comparison to apartheid is not EU policy and is unacceptable.” The same source added, “It is a serious problem when the person officially representing the EU internationally makes statements like this.” The apartheid allegation remains highly disputed inside the EU, with countries such as Ireland and Spain previously showing sympathy for similar claims, while major members including Germany and France have firmly rejected them.

The apartheid comparison is also central to South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where Pretoria says Israel violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention during the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Kallas’s office declined to comment and did not confirm or deny the report. The publication comes amid growing criticism of Kallas’s performance, with unease inside the European External Action Service and concern reportedly voiced by France, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Ireland. In response, Kallas told EU foreign service staff that “the roles of the European Union institutions are clearly defined in the Union treaties, and that framework remains unchanged.”