The four leaders gathered on the margins of a summit in Brussels on Friday to discuss their "readiness to recognise Palestine," adding they stand ready to do so "when it can make a positive contribution and the circumstances are right,"
Euronews reports.
"We are agreed that the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region is through implementation of a two-state solution, with Israeli and Palestinian States living side-by-side, in peace and security," a joint statement by the four heads of government reads.
Speaking after the summit, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said he believed a lot could be done "in the next week" to strengthen political backing for a Palestinian state in the United Nations. Golob added he was "sure" that the moment when conditions for establishing a new government in Palestine will be "ripe" could be "a few weeks, maybe a month" away.
Nine of the EU’s 27 member states currently recognise Palestinians' right to a state according to the so-called 1967 borders, which includes the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
Malta, along with eastern states such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia, have recognised the Palestinians' right to statehood since 1988. In 2014, Sweden became the first member state to unilaterally recognise Palestinians' right to statehood while a member of the bloc.
The Slovenian premier confirmed a representative also attended the meeting on behalf of the Belgian government, seen as another staunch supporter of Palestinians' fight for statehood.
Belgium currently holds the 6-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, responsible for overseeing its work, and is therefore likely restricted from signing such declarations.
Although the European Union supports the so-called two-state solution - which would deliver statehood for Palestinians - and is the single biggest donor of aid to Palestinians, it has not yet unanimously backed the recognition of a Palestinian state.
"The debate on the recognition of Palestine was not on the table," European Council President Charles Michel explained on Friday.
"But I will share with you what I think about it. I think that if the idea is to start a kind of process so it's possible to take into account steps that could be made on both sides - by the Palestinian Authority, for instance, and by Israel - then it could be a useful process."
