World Jewish News

EU ambassador to Israel: 'Israel can learn from the European Union how to fight terrorism'

Israel can learn from the European Union how to fight terrorism and not only the other way around, said EU Ambassador Lars Faaborg-Andersen who is to leave his post at the end of this month after a 4-year term.

On the eve of leaving Israel at the end of the month, after serving as EU ambassador for the last four years, Faaborg-Andersen told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday that regarding anti-terrorism,

“We have a lot to learn from Israel, and Israel has a lot to learn from us,” he told reporters in Tel Aviv.

The war against terror, he said, is an effort necessitating the use of every weapon in the continent's countries' arsenals. While Israel had performed with notable success when it came to operational counter-terror measures, he believes it is also necessary to employ other tools such as education, working with social services and de-radicalization methods.

The Danish diplomat also said that Israel is providing the Europeans with “very, very important information, including on Islamic State.” For the most part, he added, that information flows into the national intelligence services of individual EU countries.’’

Regarding the relations between the EU and and Israel besides cooperation on anti-terrorim, he said the with Israel is the most developed of any relationship the EU has with any non-member country in the world. But he deplored the fact that this relationship is under-exposed.

The problem, he said, is that “the relationship in its totality is under-exposed.

"Few Israelis understand the level of our relationship, which both sides enjoy, instead focusing on what we disagree on which makes up only 15-20 percent of the relationship," Faaborg-Andersen said.

"We're great supporters and great friends of Israel," he said, adding that ‘’our record proves the point.’’

‘’I don't want that point getting lost in our disagreements, which mainly center on the Palestinian issue. There are vital foreign relations issues we do agree on, such as fighting anti-Semitism and the war on terror. You're doing all you can to stabilize the situation in Jordan and Egypt and so are we. You provide under-the-table security cooperation and intelligence. My message to you is to give the relationship the credit it's due and be more judicious in talking about them, rather than focusing on any single issue."

Faaborg-Andersen will be succeded by an Italian diplomat, Emanuele Giaufret.

Giaufret, who was posted in Israel in the past, served until recenty as head of the Division for Democracy and Electoral Observation within the EU’s external action service (EEAS).

EJP