EU rejects proposal to suspend association agreement with Israel

European Union (EU) foreign ministers have rejected calls to suspend a preferential trade agreement with Israel in connection to allegations of war crimes.

“The failure by both the European Commission and the EU member states to act appropriately according to international law, human rights and its own values and beliefs is making Europe complicit in the war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Israel,” Belgian Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Kathleen Van Brempt said.

A meeting held in Luxemburg on Tuesday was spearheaded by Ireland, Spain, and Slovenia, who pressed for the reopening of discussions for a partial suspension of Israel’s association agreement with the EU, originally proposed last fall.

The three nations called on the EU to “uphold its moral and political responsibility, and to defend the very core values that have underpinned the European project since its foundation.”

In a post on X, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the proposal antisemetic, adding that the Spanish government had received thanks from Iran’s “brutal regime and terrorist organisation.”

The statement was posted alongside an image of Sànchez's face and his criticisms of Israel's war on Iran on an Iranian missile (Photo: Gideon Sa'ar, X)

The debate brought to light the EU’s deepening divisions regarding developments in the Israel-Gaza war, which the United Nations (UN) found as having “genocidal intent.” 

In 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The ICC stated clearly that there are "reasonable grounds” suggesting that Netanyahu “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, medicine, and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

Before the meeting began, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters that he expects every European country to “uphold what the International Court of Justice and the UN say on human rights and the defence of international law.”

“Anything different would be a defeat,” he added. “Europe is playing for its credibility.”

Since 2000, the EU-Israel Association Agreement grants Israel preferential access to EU markets, supporting cooperation in trade, research, and diplomacy. 

The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, making the agreement a fundamental part of their relationship.

A central feature of the debate is Article 2 of the agreement, also referred to as its human rights clause, which states that cooperation is “based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.”

“There are clearly serious attacks on the principles of the rights and values of the EU that govern this agreement,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maximme Prévot said, referring to Article 2 of the pact.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas explained that discussions on the partial suspension of the EU-Israel association agreement “will continue” but require certain states to shift their positions to come into force.

The association agreement would require unanimous approval by all 27 EU member states to be fully revoked, but a partial suspension requires a majority of 15 member states representing 65% of the EU population.

For the proposal to pass, Germany and Italy would have to change their position since the two countries played a major role in blocking the proposal.

Germany described the proposal as inappropriate, with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadenphul instead insisting that the EU must engage in “constructive dialogue” with Israel about these “critical issues.”

The EU has instead opted to implement a wide-range of restrictions on Iran starting in May, including sanctions on Iranians involved in limiting free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been criticised as a double standard by EU insiders.

Kallas rejected the criticisms, saying that a suspension of the association agreement would not stop the expansion by violent Israeli settlers on the West Bank.

The EU also received sharp criticism from Amnesty International, a global movement of over 10 million people campaigning against human rights abuses, who accused Europe of “a moral failure” which revealed a “brazen contempt for civilian lives, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Lebanon.”

Alongside the NGO, 70 other groups called for the suspension of the EU-Israel agreement over the past week, with over a million people and almost 400 senior EU diplomats making the same demand.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza war in 2023, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed out of a total population of 2.2 million, with an additional 170,000 wounded. This amounts to over 10% of the population.

A vast majority of these casualties are women, children, and the elderly.

The numbers are considered conservative, since bodies are still being dragged out from underneath the rubble with thousands still missing.

While a US-led ceasefire agreement was reached in 2025, the Israeli military has continued to attack Gaza on a near-daily basis, killing over 700 people since last October.

“Conditions in Gaza are unbearable, marked by continued violations of the ceasefire agreement and the clearly insufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip,” read the proposal letter addressed to Kallas.

“The situation in the West Bank is rapidly deteriorating, with escalating violence against Palestinians: radical settlers are acting with impunity.”