On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, multiple European countries announced they would be recognizing Palestine as a state.
In the morning hours, local time, on Wednesday, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre led the charge, stating that the Nordic nation would recognize Palestine’s statehood as of May 28, 2024. Norway, which is not a part of the European Union, will be joining its Nordic allies of Sweden and Iceland in recognizing both Palestine and Israel as sovereign states. As of now, neighbors Denmark and Finland still only recognize Israel as such.
Only a few minutes later, Ireland and Spain, who had coordinated the move with Norway, also announced that they would be recognizing the statehood of Palestine. Both countries are EU members.
“It is a statement of unequivocal support for a two-State solution - the only credible path to peace and security for Israel, for Palestine and for their peoples,” said Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on X, continuing, “A peace that honours the legitimate aspirations of all people in the region to live with respect, justice, security and dignity.”
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Ireland is the first of the British Isles to recognize a Palestinian state. According to the United Kingdom government, it supports the idea of a two-state solution and will recognize a Palestinian state once it is estimated to “best serve the objective of peace.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the decision, saying, “Peace, justice and coherence are the basis of our historic decision.”
“Time has come to move from words into action.”
Much like Ireland, Spain is the first of its European neighbors to recognize Palestine, with neither Portugal nor France recognizing the territory’s statehood.
With Ireland and Spain, 10 out of 27 EU countries recognize Palestine as a state. In addition to Sweden, those are Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, and Cyprus.
