COPENHAGEN — The European Union’s foreign policy chief expressed doubt Saturday that member states could reach consensus on imposing sanctions against Israel, as EU foreign ministers gathered in Denmark’s capital for an informal meeting on international crises.

“I’m not very optimistic,” said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking to reporters before the talks.

“Even the option we propose, which is quite a lenient one regarding their participation in the Horizon program, we don’t have a qualified majority together.”

Ireland and a handful of other member states have urged the bloc to act quickly, calling for “immediate and concrete measures” in response to what they describe as Israel’s genocidal actions and breaches of human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Kallas confirmed that a range of proposals would be discussed, but cautioned that decisions were not expected at Saturday’s meeting.

“We will, of course, discuss ... but I’m not very optimistic, and today we are definitely not going to adopt decisions,” she said.

The EU’s top diplomat also addressed the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“The situation in Gaza is going to be discussed today. Unfortunately, we haven’t moved forward with the proposals we made. The situation has not improved, and the news coming from Gaza is not very encouraging,” Kallas said.

The agenda in Copenhagen includes military support to Ukraine, potential sanctions on Russia, the use of frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine, and developments in the Middle East, including Gaza. — Agencies