The European Union's policy toward Israel and how to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as security deteriorates in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank divides members of the 27-nation bloc.
As the top diplomats meet in Luxembourg, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said there was no clear political agreement to ramp up pressure on Israel.
“We didn’t see that today, but these discussions will continue,” she said.
One of the loudest voices within the EU blocking sharper pressure on Israel is shortly leaving office — Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán routinely obstructed EU action on issues ranging from support for Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion to sanctions on Israelis accused of violent extremism.
Kallas said that Orbán’s defeat by pro-European opposition leader Péter Magyar in Hungary’s recent election could accelerate action.
“A lot of issues ... have been blocked” by Hungary, she said. “We are reopening the discussions and hope that we get a positive result.”
The EU has an Association Agreement, signed in 2000 , that regulates trade and cooperation with Israel. Spain, Slovenia and Ireland have proposed completely suspending it, a move that doesn't have the required unanimous support among EU nations.
However, a partial suspension targeting just the trade aspects could have enough political support, according to Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares.
“The European Union has to say today very clearly to Israel that a change is needed,” he said.
The EU has found indications Israel had violated the agreement with the bloc in its military campaign in Gaza.
“The attacks on the values that underpin that agreement are now too serious to ignore,” said Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, adding that Belgium would support at least a partial suspension of the deal.
Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Israel's recent adoption of the death penalty for some Palestinians, and ongoing fighting in Lebanon should push EU nations to ramp up pressure on Israel.
“We need to act. We need to make sure that our fundamental values are protected,” McEntee said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said France and Sweden have brought forward a plan to curtail trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Amnesty International condemned EU's lack of action to pressure Israel over its actions. Erika Guevara-Rosas, a director for the human rights organization, said “each delay only further entrenches impunity and paves the way for further grave human rights violations” by Israel.
