On Wednesday 14 February, the President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, asked the European Commission to investigate Israel’s compliance with its human rights obligations.
“Against the background of the risk of an even greater humanitarian catastrophe posed by the imminent threat of Israeli military operations in Rafah, and given what has occurred and continues to occur in Gaza since October 2023, including widespread concern about possible breaches of IHL and international human rights law by Israel, we ask that the Commission undertake an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its obligations, including under the EU/Israel Association Agreement, which makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of the relationship”, they urged in a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The President and the Prime Minister ask the Commission, if it considers that Israel is in breach, to propose appropriate measures to the Council for consideration.
European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podesta announced that the Commission had received the letter this morning, and said the Commission would be studying it.
See the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/auq (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)