After months of deadlock, EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday 11 May to adopt sanctions against extremist settlers and members of Hamas. This adoption was made possible by the lifting of the Hungarian veto when the new government came to power.
“Today, we reached a political agreement to sanction Israeli extremist settlers and entities. This goes together with new sanctions on leading Hamas figures (...). Violence and extremism carry consequences”, stressed the High Representative of the Union, Kaja Kallas, at the end of the EU Council.
This European decision was immediately denounced by the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar. “The European Union has chosen, in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis”, he stressed on X. He described as “equally outrageous (...) the unacceptable comparison the European Union has chosen to make between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. This is a completely distorted moral equivalence”. “Israel has stood, stands, and will continue to stand for the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland”, he warned.
Discussions on trade with the settlements continue. In addition to these sanctions, the ministers discussed possible measures relating to trade with the settlements. “We had discussions on the trade issues, limiting trade with illegal Israeli settlements. There was also a call by many Member States to take this forward. So, we will continue to work with the Commission on presenting proposals”, explained Ms Kallas, while noting that many others wanted the status quo.
Contrary to expectations, the European Commission did not present any concrete proposals to the EU Council. Asked about this, Ms Kallas said that trade was not her responsibility, but that of the Commission.
However, when they arrived at the EU Council, several ministers advocated measures to be taken. “We need to see new tariffs on imports from the settlements” that are not included in the association agreement, stressed the Swedish minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, who made a proposal along these lines with her French counterpart. In her view, this is the most realistic proposal and the one that offers the best chance of winning the most votes.
A proposal that could be supported by Germany, which refuses to suspend the Association Agreement. “The Federal Government is prepared to support proposals to make it more difficult to import products from the settlement territories, for example through higher customs duties”, emphasised the German Minister of State, Gunther Krichbaum.
Italy’s Antonio Tajani said that “Italy could play a decisive role in forming a qualified majority. We have told Parliament that we are ready to examine the Franco-Swedish proposal, but it needs to be studied in depth”, he added.
But according to the Irish minister, Helen McEntee, this is not the appropriate solution. In her view, applying customs duties on products from the - illegal - settlements gives them a certain legitimacy.
Like her Spanish colleague José Manuel Albares, she called for the EU to comply with international law by simply banning trade with the settlements. “A number of measures simply involve complying with the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice. There are very specific measures, such as a ban (...) on trade in products from the occupied territories (...). These measures are simply a matter of respecting international law”, said the Spaniard.
The Austrian minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, was also more reserved, but in the opposite direction: “Legally speaking, all options are already being considered, as these products are not covered by the exemption from customs duties provided for in the Association Agreement. So we’re already making a distinction, but we have a major problem with application, and I think that’s crucial”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)