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A panel of UN experts on Monday unsuccessfully pleaded the EU to immediately suspend the EU–Israel Association Agreement at the EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg held on Tuesday.
A motion to suspend the agreement was supported by Spain, Slovenia, and Ireland. However, Germany and Italy blocked the bid. Ireland and Spain had pushed to suspend the agreement in 2024, spurring findings that Israel had “likely” breached its obligations under the agreement.
The EU is Israel’s top trade partner. Through the EU–Israel Association Agreement, Israel gains preferential access to European markets and “tariff-free entry of key agricultural products.”
Arguing for the agreement’s suspension, the expert panel cited Article 2, which states that all provisions of the agreement must respect human rights and democratic principles. Experts claimed Israel’s decades-long apartheid and systemic abuse of human rights and international humanitarian law violate the provision, providing grounds by which the EU can unilaterally withdraw from the agreement. The panel noted “previous failures of the EU to adopt meaningful measures,” concluding:
Human rights concerns have even led some states to consider independently cutting ties with Israel and Israeli businesses. Ireland attempted to pass the Occupied Territories Bill in 2018, which sought to ban economic relations with illegal settlements in occupied territories under international law. The bill was renewed in 2025, without the earlier version’s ban on services, but also failed to pass. Spain and Slovenia each successfully enacted similar legislation in 2025.
Canada maintains a free trade agreement with Israel that explicitly defines the West Bank and Gaza as annexed Israeli territories. However, as Canada recognized Palestinian statehood in 2025, tension persists between the agreement and international principles of self determination codified in articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter as well as Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
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A motion to suspend the agreement was supported by Spain, Slovenia, and Ireland. However, Germany and Italy blocked the bid. Ireland and Spain had pushed to suspend the agreement in 2024, spurring findings that Israel had “likely” breached its obligations under the agreement.
The EU is Israel’s top trade partner. Through the EU–Israel Association Agreement, Israel gains preferential access to European markets and “tariff-free entry of key agricultural products.”
Arguing for the agreement’s suspension, the expert panel cited Article 2, which states that all provisions of the agreement must respect human rights and democratic principles. Experts claimed Israel’s decades-long apartheid and systemic abuse of human rights and international humanitarian law violate the provision, providing grounds by which the EU can unilaterally withdraw from the agreement. The panel noted “previous failures of the EU to adopt meaningful measures,” concluding:
The panel’s appeal echoed other recent international calls to end the deal. A 2025 petition from the European Citizen’s Initiative, which advocates for termination of the agreement, has amassed over one million signatures, surpassing the threshold needed to bring the proposal to the European Commission. Additionally, over 60 human rights NGOs, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, signed an open letter earlier this month demanding an end to the trade agreement.
Human rights concerns have even led some states to consider independently cutting ties with Israel and Israeli businesses. Ireland attempted to pass the Occupied Territories Bill in 2018, which sought to ban economic relations with illegal settlements in occupied territories under international law. The bill was renewed in 2025, without the earlier version’s ban on services, but also failed to pass. Spain and Slovenia each successfully enacted similar legislation in 2025.
Canada maintains a free trade agreement with Israel that explicitly defines the West Bank and Gaza as annexed Israeli territories. However, as Canada recognized Palestinian statehood in 2025, tension persists between the agreement and international principles of self determination codified in articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter as well as Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The post EU declines to suspend Israel trade agreement despite international pleas appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.