Commission proposes suspension of trade concessions with Israel

Following President von der Leyen ‘s announcement in her State of the Union address, the European Commission has submitted to the Council its proposal to suspend certain trade-related provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement (hereafter “the Agreement”), as well as proposals for sanctions against Hamas, extremist ministers and violent settlers.

The Commission has also suspended its bilateral support to Israel, with the exception of support to civil society and Yad Vashem. Specifically, this affects future annual allocations between 2025 and 2027, as well as ongoing institutional cooperation projects with Israel and projects funded under the EU-Israel Regional Cooperation Mechanism.

The proposals follow a review of Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the Agreement. The review concluded that the measures taken by the Israeli government constitute a violation of essential elements related to respect for human rights and democratic principles. This authorises the EU to suspend the Agreement unilaterally.

In particular, this breach relates to the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza following Israel’s military intervention, the blockade of humanitarian aid, the intensification of military operations and the decision by the Israeli authorities to proceed with the settlement plan in the so-called E1 area of the West Bank, which further undermines the two-state solution.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The terrible events taking place daily in Gaza must stop. An immediate ceasefire, unrestricted access for all humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages held by Hamas are indispensable. The European Union remains the largest donor of humanitarian aid and we strongly advocate the two-state solution. Reflecting these principled commitments, and in the light of recent serious developments in the West Bank, we propose to suspend trade concessions with Israel, to sanction extremist ministers and violent settlers and to suspend bilateral support to Israel, without affecting our engagement with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem”.

The suspension affects the main trade provisions of the Agreement and, in practice, means that imports from Israel will lose their preferential access to the EU market. These goods will therefore be subject to the tariffs in force for any other third country with which the EU has not signed a free trade agreement.

Next steps

Suspension of trade-related provisions

The Commission has proposed a Council Decision on the suspension of certain trade-related provisions of the Agreement which fall within the scope of the Union’s common commercial policy.

The Council is to adopt the decision by qualified majority. The decision will enter into force on the day of its adoption.

Once the Decision has been adopted, the EU-Israel Association Council will be notified of the suspension. The suspension will take effect thirty days after its notification to the Association Council.

Sanctions against Hamas, extremist Israeli government ministers and violent settlers

In concrete terms, the package consists of four draft legal acts, with nine proposed listings of ministers and settlers (under the EU’s global human rights sanctions regime), as well as a strengthened package of listings against ten members of the Hamas politburo, based on a new listing criterion under the Hamas sanctions regime.

The Council must now adopt the decision unanimously.

More information: European Commission