The article of Judge Richard Goldstone in which he retracted his statement that Israel deliberately targeted civilians in Gaza during the 2008-2009 war, “does not in any way change EU's consistent line calling on all parties to respect international law,” an EU spokesperson told EJP.
In an opinion piece published last week in the Washington Post, Goldstone wrote: "If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document."
"The EU deeply regrets the loss of life during the Gaza conflict," said Maja Kocijancic, deputy spokesperson of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"We have called on all parties, including non-state actors, to launch thorough, in-depth investigations into possible violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by parties to the conflict and will continue to do so," she told EJP.
"These investigations should be in accordance with international standards."
She said the EU "has worked continuously with the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority in this regard."
"Following the report prepared by the Committee of experts, the EU has acknowledged that further steps should be taken by Israel and Palestine (both the Palestinian Authority and the Gaza de facto authorities) to fight impunity and uphold the principle of accountability," she added.
"The EU insists on the primary responsibility of the parties to complete the investigations initiated and follow them up in order to bring justice to victims. The parties should ensure communication of the results of the investigations to the victims, the UN and all relevant stakeholders," Kocijancic added.
"If the investigations carried out fall short of the expectations in term of modalities (independent, impartial and effective) and outcome, the EU will impress further on the parties to address the issue of accountability and the respect of human rights and international humanitarian law, notably regarding the protection of civilians," the EU spokesperson said.

Asked by EJP if the European Union would relaunch the process of upgrading EU-Israel relations which was suspended following the EU Parliament's endorsement of the Goldstone Report, she responded that "no new Action Plan or an upgrade is in sight at this stage."
Kocijancic recalled that the 22 February EU-Israel Association Council reiterated the EU’s June 2009 position that an "upgrade of relations needs to be seen in the context of the resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict through the implementation of a two-state solution.".
The Association Council, she added, agreed that EU’s relations with Israel should continue to be based on the current Action Plan, whose validity has been extended until June 2011.
The EU Member States also agreed to look into possible areas for future potential cooperation.
"We are prepared to discuss openly and constructively these matters with our Israeli partners," she said.
"However, it remains clear to us that substantial progress on the Mideas peace process remains an essential condition for moving forward concretely on bilateral relations."