EU Foreign Ministers are slated to discuss plans to review the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
This comes amid growing alarm about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank.
Arriving at a meeting in Brussels, EU Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas said that Ministers would discuss a Dutch proposal to review the EU-Israel association agreement, a trade accord signed in 2000.
The proposal, spearheaded by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, is based on Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which allows for suspension if the EU determines that Israel is committing grave violations of human rights.
The calls for review from the Netherlands have received support from France, Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Sweden and at least four other EU nations.
Noting that member states took different views in their approach to Israel’s government, she said, “It’s going to be a very, very hard discussion on Gaza.”
France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot disclosed that Paris backed a review of the EU-Israel agreement to see if Israel was respecting its commitments to human rights.
In a letter to Kallas, Dutch Foreign Minister, Casper Veldkamp said that Israel’s aid blockade was a violation of its obligations under international humanitarian law and therefore the EU-Israel agreement, which includes provisions to respect human rights.
He also expressed concern about Israel’s plans to entrust the delivery of aid to Palestinians to private companies, rather than the UN and humanitarian organisations.
He wrote, “All of this merits a broader reflection on and discussion of our relationship with Israel.”
The legal basis for the EU’s trade relations with Israel is the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
A suspension of trade would have major impications for Israel, as the EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner.
The bloc accounted for 32% of Israel’s total trade in 2024 – 34.2% of Israel’s imports came from the EU, and 28.8% of the country’s exports went to the EU.
Total trade volume between the EU and Israel last year amounted to €46.8 billion.
Growing Momentum To Review EU-Israel Association Agreement
Also, Ireland’s Development Minister, Neale Richmond told reporters that ten countries now supported the decision to review the agreement, up from only a handful a year ago.
Commenting on the growing momentum to review the agreement, he said, “I can only imagine it’s because other member states have eyes and ears and they can see the absolute horrors that are unfolding on a daily basis live on our television screens in Gaza.”
“Children are dying, children are starving, families are being murdered every day. This is not acceptable and it’s clearly now time for the EU to look at that EU-Israel trade association and the very clear breaches of the human rights under article 2 [of the agreement].”
Neale Richmond
He called on Kallas to provide “a clear message [that] we won’t stand for the status quo.”
“It’s really important for the Irish government to absolutely underline the Israeli obligations to EU member states and the people of Gaza to make sure that we see a proper humanitarian corridor opened up and that, yes, we do look at Article Two and look at the human rights obligations of Israel towards the people of Gaza and indeed the West Bank.”
Neale Richmond
He underlined that they would make it clear to the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, that a majority or a unanimous decision is not needed to suspend the association agreement with Israel.
“It is now the time to make sure that not only can we hold Israel to account, but actually that we show that the EU believes in the rule of law and it believes in the protection of our values.”
Neale Richmond
The governments of Ireland and Spain first called for a review of the EU’s trade agreement with Israel in February last year, but gained little traction.
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