EU ministers reject calls to suspend Israeli trade agreement over 'war crimes'

Published on 21/04/2026 - 19:17 GMT+2

EU overseas ministers rejected calls to extremity preferential commercialized with Israel successful transportation with allegations of warfare crimes, highlighting persistent divisions wrong the bloc implicit the Middle East.

However, the EU’s overseas argumentation chief, Kaja Kallas, said further discussions would instrumentality place, including information of a connection by France and Sweden to enforce tariffs connected goods originating from Israeli settlements successful the occupied Palestinian territories.

“We cannot suffer show of Gaza and the West Bank,” Kallas told journalists astatine a property conference.

Ahead of the gathering successful Luxembourg connected Tuesday, the governments of Spain, Ireland and Slovenia called connected the EU to “uphold its motivation and governmental responsibility, and to support the precise halfway values that person underpinned the European task since its foundation”.

“Conditions successful Gaza are unbearable, marked by continued violations of the ceasefire statement and the intelligibly insufficient introduction of humanitarian assistance into the Strip,” the missive addressed to Kallas stated.

“The concern successful the West Bank is rapidly deteriorating, with escalating unit against Palestinians: extremist settlers are acting with impunity,” it added, referring to what it described arsenic “intolerable deaths” of Palestinians.

Kallas said determination was insufficient enactment among subordinate states for the proposals, with nary alteration successful positions to backmost either a afloat oregon partial suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement.

A afloat suspension would necessitate unanimous enactment from each 27 subordinate states, portion a partial suspension would necessitate a qualified majority, representing astatine slightest 55% of subordinate states and 65% of the EU population.

The result had been wide anticipated, arsenic respective larger subordinate states, including Germany and Italy, were not expected to enactment specified measures.

At the aforesaid time, a fig of EU countries, including Germany, person criticised Israel’s continued subject run successful the region, arsenic good arsenic caller legislative developments successful the Knesset.

A spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said helium had “expressed his heavy interest astir developments successful the Palestinian territories” successful caller days.

“There indispensable beryllium nary de facto partial annexation of the West Bank,” the spokesperson said Merz told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a telephone call.

Kallas said she would notation the connection from Sweden and France regarding colony goods to the EU commercialized commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, successful the coming days, connected the ground that settlements autumn extracurricular the scope of the Association Agreement.

She rejected claims that the EU was applying treble standards, stating that the bloc is “among the largest supporters of Palestinians, including successful reconstruction efforts”.

“Compare however overmuch others are doing for Gaza and Palestinians, and you volition spot that galore are turning to the EU for support,” she said.