Speaking to EUROPE on Tuesday 25 July, a spokesman for the European External Action Service (EEAS) underlined the EU’s concerns about the vote on judicial reform in the Israeli Knesset the previous day.
One provision aims to remove the possibility for the judiciary to rule on the ‘reasonableness’ of government decisions. Coalition MPs voted in favour of the text, while the opposition boycotted the vote.
“The EU is concerned that this law would limit the Supreme Court’s ability to conduct judicial reviews of government decisions and thus weaken its role and judicial oversight”, explained the spokesperson.
Believing that the ongoing debates and demonstrations showed that a large part of the Israeli population was also concerned about the reforms and that Israel was a “vibrant democracy”, the spokesman said that the EU hoped that it was still possible to reach a compromise that all Israeli citizens and political parties could accept.
For several months, thousands of Israelis have been demonstrating regularly against this reform (see EUROPE 13141/15).
“EU-Israel relations are based on shared values such as democracy, the rule of law, including an independent judiciary, and human rights, which are essential elements of our partnership. It is important that these values are preserved”, said the spokesman. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)