The EU Decides Not to Suspend Its Trade Agreement with Israel… but the Debate Is Not Completely Closed

While a petition demanding the suspension of the association agreement between the European Union and Israel has garnered over a million signatures across our continent, the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Seven dismissed this idea on Tuesday in Luxembourg.

This fundamental text between Europeans and Israel continues to be the “appropriate legal and institutional framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation”. However, some countries, such as Spain and Ireland, have been calling for its repeal since the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Countries in favor of suspending it point to Article 2 of this agreement. It states an “essential element” for dialogue and cooperation: “respect for human rights”. An article they believe is being violated by the government of Benyamin Netanyahu.

A report from the EU Special Representative for Human Rights in June 2025 stated that “based on evaluations from independent international institutions, there are indications that Israel may not have complied with” this obligation, given its actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

Despite the pressures, “there is no automatic suspension procedure due to this Article 2”, according to international law professor François Dubuisson from the Free University of Brussels. He explained that suspension is “a political process.”

A debate was held on Tuesday among the Foreign Ministers of the member states. Calls for suspension were rejected, with countries like Germany and Italy vetoing them.

Germany remains one of Israel’s most important supporters due to its historical responsibility in the Holocaust. The German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, reiterated on Tuesday in Luxembourg that suspending this agreement would be “inappropriate”, emphasizing the need for a “critical and constructive dialogue with Israel.”

The other option for opponents of the agreement is partial suspension. This would be easier to achieve, requiring just a qualified majority of at least 15 member states representing 65% of the EU population. To adopt these measures, it would require that “states change their position. We have not seen that today (Tuesday)”, said the EU’s foreign policy chief.

The commercial aspect is crucial for Israel. It provides preferential conditions for trade, which are significant as the EU is not its top partner. About 34% of Israeli imports come from the EU, and 28% of its exports are destined for the bloc. Conversely, Israel is only the EU’s 31st commercial partner, representing less than 1% of its total trade, according to Brussels.

“These economic privileges granted by the European Union to Israel are an important political lever,” said François Dubuisson, a specialist in legal aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The European Commission proposed sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank several months ago, but a veto from Hungary has prevented a decision on this. Europeans hope that the electoral defeat of Viktor Orbán will change this, but they still need to wait for the new government to take office to see.

“I don’t believe that blocking a commercial agreement is a useful tool, as it ends up affecting the entire Israeli population,” said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Tuesday. However, he recommended “individual sanctions” against extremist settlers in the West Bank, possibly as a consolation for pro-suspension advocates.

France and Sweden, on the other hand, jointly called for restrictions on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. “We believe that the EU must urgently increase pressure on Israel,” they wrote in a joint letter.