Benjamin Netanyahu caught on hot mic in damning criticism of EU

Israeli Prime Minister overheard saying EU will 'shrivel and disappear' if it does not adapt in comments in meeting with central European leaders

Israel’'s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban attend a news conference with the Visegrad Group Prime Ministers in Budapest, Hungary on 19 July 2017 (Reuters)

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been left red-faced after his scathing comments about the European Union were broadcast to journalists outside what he thought was a private meeting room.

“I think Europe has to decide if it wants to live and thrive or if it wants to shrivel and disappear,” Mr Netanyahu told leaders from the central European Visegrad Group at what he thought was a closed-door meeting in Budapest on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister went on to criticise the bloc’s policy towards Israel, urging Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Czech Republic’s Bohuslav Sobotka, Poland’s Beata Szydlo and Slovakia’s Robert Fico to encourage the rest of Europe to “stop attacking” and “start supporting” Israel.

“I am not very politically correct. I know that’s a shock to some of you. It’s a joke. But the truth is the truth – both about Europe’s security and Europe’s economic future. Both of these concerns mandate a different policy towards Israel.

“The European Union is the only association of countries in the world that conditions the relations with Israel, that produces technology and every area, on political conditions. The only ones! Nobody does it,” he said. “It’s absolutely – may I say – I think it’s crazy. I think it’s actually crazy,” he added.

Mr Netanyahu was referring in particular to a 1995 agreement between the EU and Israel which subjects trade to the condition that Israel shows “respect for human rights and democratic principles” over the populations in its control, including the millions of Palestinians living in the occupied Territories.

Unbeknownst to the Prime Minister, his microphone was actually being piped through to journalists in an adjacent room, Israeli media reported, before an aide realised and stopped the transmission.

Mr Netanyahu also spoke positively of his relationship with the new US administration of Donald Trump, and admitted that Israeli air strikes inside Syria have targeted Hezbollah arms convoys “dozens of times” – a position the Israeli army usually does not publicly comment on.

The candid – and harsh – comments about European policy come as Mr Netanyahu faces criticism both at home and abroad for the trip to Hungary to meet with authoritarian leader Mr Orban, whose flirtation with the far right has alarmed Hungary’s ethnic minorities, including Jews.

During a joint media conference on Tuesday, Mr Orban pledged to fight growing anti-Semitism in his country, words which were welcomed by his Israeli counterpart.

Mr Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli Prime Minister to visit Hungary since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He is seeking better relations with countries which have voting rights in forums such as the EU and UN, which it is hoped can help defend Israeli interests.

On Wednesday, after the closed-door meeting, the five Prime Ministers addressed reporters in remarks Mr Netanyahu joked would be short, since the press had already been briefed.

“We believe it’s in the objective interest of Europe to cooperate with Israel in the fight against terrorism, and technology for the future,” Mr Netanyahu said.

“There’s an anomaly. I don’t hide it. We’re often criticised by Western Europe, often more than any other place in the world,” despite the fact the Jewish state is a democratic “beacon of tolerance” in the region”, he said.

“I think that if I can suggest that what comes out of this meeting is your ability perhaps to communicate to your colleagues in other parts of Europe: Help Europe … don’t undermine the one western country that defends European values and European interests and prevents another mass migration to Europe,” Mr Netanyahu added.

The EU’s delegation to Israel responded with a statement after the Prime Minister’s comments were made public that it still expects his government to show “respect for international humanitarian law” as well as make progress towards a two-state solution in the Middle Eastern conflict.