On Tuesday 15 July, European foreign ministers will consider a list of ten proposals from the EU High Representative in response to the report highlighting Israel’s violations of Article 2 of the Association Agreement.
Five proposals directly concern the Association Agreement. They would mean suspending the entire agreement or suspending the political dialogue linked to the agreement. Both would require a unanimous decision. The suspension of trade preferences granted to Israeli products to enter the EU market could also be decided, by a qualified majority in the Council. Another possibility is the suspension of other chapters not linked to the Common Foreign and Security Policy, with a decision being taken either by qualified majority or unanimously, depending on the area concerned.
The High Representative is also proposing the suspension of the 2008 Protocol on participation in EU programmes such as Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe. Such a suspension would require the unanimous agreement of the Member States.
Other proposals, not directly linked to the Association Agreement, have also been made. These include a total ban on imports from the colonies, decided unanimously, or at national level “for reasons of public order”, decided by those Member States that so wish.
The Commission could also propose suspending the visa exemption enjoyed by Israeli nationals, as well as the aviation agreement between the EU and its Member States and Israel.
Finally, the College of Commissioners could decide to restrict Israel’s participation in projects in the field of scientific and technological cooperation that receive EU funding.
First effect of the agreement on humanitarian aid. At the same time as preparing the options, the High Representative was tasked with holding talks with the Israeli side. The dialogue seems to have worked, with the announcement on Thursday 10 July of “important measures” agreed by Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza (see EUROPE 13678/27).
According to Anouar El-Anouni, spokesperson for the European External Action Service, the agreement is already bearing fruit. “We have already seen some of the things Israel has done, such as opening the Zikim crossing in the north, allowing fuel in, allowing UNICEF to repair the water pipes and opening the Jordanian road”, he said on Friday.
No decision on measures against Israel is expected to be taken at Tuesday’s Council meeting, mainly because of Israeli efforts, but also because of a lack of unity among the Member States.
“From the outset, we stated that our primary objective was to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. That was the main reason why we started the process (of revising the Association Agreement). If, thanks to the agreement reached between the EU and Israel, the humanitarian situation improves considerably, this will of course have an impact on the discussions on Article 2 and the measures”, summed up one diplomat on Friday, while warning that the important thing was to implement the agreement reached. “We need to focus on what gives us the leverage to change the situation of the people on the ground”, added another diplomat. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)