EU to discuss potential suspension of association agreement with Israel
- On Tuesday, the Twenty-Seven will debate whether to suspend their association agreement with Israel, according to the EU’s foreign policy chief.
- This comes after requests from several countries, including Spain, who have been highly critical of the conflict in the Middle East.
- However, Kaja Kallas remained cautious about the outcome of these discussions and a possible suspension of the commercial aspect of the agreement.
It’s back on the table. The EU’s association agreement with Israel will be reconsidered on Tuesday, April 21 in Luxembourg during a meeting of the Twenty-Seven’s foreign ministers, as stated by the EU’s foreign policy chief the day before. “Some member states have raised this issue,”
said Kaja Kallas on Monday to the press, showing caution about a suspension of the agreement.
This debate is at the request of Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia, who jointly sent a letter to the European Commission on Friday demanding a “review”
of the agreement that came into effect in 2000. Madrid even called for the termination of this association agreement on Sunday, which requires unanimous approval from the 27 EU member states.
“We cannot rule out the reopening of discussions on the suspension of the association agreement between the European Union and Israel”
“We cannot exclude the possibility that the discussion on the suspension of the association agreement between the European Union and Israel will reopen, in addition to national sanctions,”
Pascal Confavreux, spokesperson for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
A potential suspension of the EU-Israel agreement could be reconsidered following the “disproportionate”
Israeli strikes in Lebanon and the abuses committed by settlers in the West Bank, as stated by the spokesperson of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs last Thursday. “We cannot exclude the possibility that the discussion on the suspension of the association agreement between the European Union and Israel will reopen, in addition to national sanctions,”
affirmed Pascal Confavreux.
Could the commercial aspect of the agreement be suspended?
The European Commission has proposed a partial suspension, putting the commercial aspect of the agreement on hold; a decision that can be made by the qualified majority of EU countries, the main trading partner of Israel. This sanction, previously mentioned in 2025 during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, did not materialize due to the reluctance of several member states, including Germany.
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