The discussion held on Wednesday 22 July between the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) did not make it possible to take a decision on the European Commission proposal to ban trade in products from Israeli settlements.
Nothing is said to have changed since the Foreign Affairs Council of 13 July and discussions are reportedly still deadlocked, according to our information. The ambassadors are said above all to have restated the position of their respective State.
At least 10 Member States are said to support the proposal by means of a qualified majority vote (Luxembourg, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, France, and Poland). Ireland, which holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, is also in favour of the measure. At least four Member States are said to be open to a proposal, but would like a unanimous decision (Italy, Estonia, Malta, and Cyprus). Unanimity is also being advocated by Lithuania.
Slovakia and Greece are said to oppose the proposal, as do Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Slovenia, which would like existing measures to be strengthened. At the Foreign Affairs Council of 13 July, Austria had specified that it wanted a legal text before taking a position.
Faced on 13 July with the impossibility of reaching a consensus among Ministers on whether the Commission proposal could be put to a vote, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, had decided to refer the matter back to the ambassadors to see whether they could determine if there is a majority in favour of holding a vote (see EUROPE 13908/4). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)