The European Commission will propose suspending the trade part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, in a significant toughening of Brussels’ reaction to the war in Gaza.
“What is happening in Gaza is unacceptable,” the Commission president said in a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, adding that she would propose a package of measures to ramp up pressure on the Israeli government, including putting her institution’s “bilateral support” to Israel on hold and suspending trade ties.
The EU is Israel’s biggest trade partner, and 34% of Israel’s imports come from the bloc.
The Commission has already proposed partially suspending Israeli companies from the EU’s research program – but the measure has not been taken because a majority of EU national governments, including Germany and Italy, are not in favour of it.
Countries including the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and Ireland have called for the trade part of the deal to be halted. However, it seems unlikely that a majority of countries could be found to back the trade suspension, the strongest measure yet announced.
“I am aware it will be difficult to find majorities,” von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
The ‘shackles of unanimity’
The Commission president later floated softening the requirement for EU countries to take foreign policy decisions as a united bloc.
“It is time to break free from the shackles of unanimity and I believe that we need to move to qualified majority in some areas, for example in foreign policy,” von der Leyen said.
She also said she would set up a donor group for the reconstruction of Gaza, and criticised Israel for inflicting “man-made famine” on Palestinians, saying, “this must stop”.
Von der Leyen also condemned the Israeli government’s support for extremist settlers in the West Bank, and said she would propose sanctions on extremist Israeli government ministers and settlers.
Some MEPs welcomed the tougher stance. Barry Andrews, an Irish MEP in the liberal Renew group, told Euractiv her announcements were “very welcome”.
Gabriele Bischoff, a Social Democrat from Germany, said it was an overdue move in the right direction.
German Green MEP Erik Marquardt said that “now it is also crucial that these proposals are not only promised but also implemented”.
(vc)
