Petition revives threat to Israel-EU trade

Suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement is again on the agenda in Brussels. The agreement, in force since June 2000, covers trade, cultural, political and scientific ties between Israel and the EU. An EU-wide petition calling for suspension of the agreement has so far succeeded in gathering 1.1 million signatures from among the EU’s 500 million population, enough to oblige the EU’s governing body, the European Commission, to consider its demands. In the past fourteen years, only sixteen similar petitions have managed to reach the required threshold of one million signatures.

The European Citizens’ Initiative was set in motion by left-wing parties in the European Parliament in January this year. It calls for suspension of the Association Agreement because of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. The organizers seek to reach 1.5 million signatures in order to ensure that they have at least one million valid signatures verified by the approved mechanisms. Once the verification process is complete, the petition will make it obligatory to hold a discussion of the matter in the Parliament and the Commission. The grounds given for the petition are “an unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians, a large-scale displacement of population and the systematic destruction of hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza.” The petition alleges that Israel is in breach of international law.

What will Hungary’s stance be?

Last September, tensions between Israel and the EU worsened as the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced partial suspension of the Association Agreement because of Israel’s continued operations in the Gaza Strip. Total suspension of the agreement was prevented by opposition from Hungary, Italy, Germany, and Austria. Germany and Italy formed a blocking group preventing measures against Israel, which require a special majority of two-thirds of the EU’s population. Following the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the matter was dropped.

Now, however, partly because of Israel’s attacks in Iran and Lebanon, several states whose governments are critical of Israel are demanding that the move should be revived. Spain, Slovenia, Ireland and other countries have declared their intention of raising the matter at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers on Tuesday in Luxemburg. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, who has made his involvement in issues such as Iran and Gaza a central plank of his attempt to revive his political fortunes, said last week that Israel “breaches international law again and again,” and publicly called for suspension of the Association Agreement.

Italy suspends defense agreement with Israel

EU recommends suspending Israel free trade agreement

An open question is what Hungary’s stance will be after its change of government next month. Under Viktor Orban, Hungary did not hesitate to veto what it saw as anti-Israel initiatives. Another question is whether Italy will change its position, following the political message its prime minister Giorgia Meloni conveyed to Israel last week in the form of an announcement that Italy will not renew the defense cooperation agreement with Israel that has existed for two decades.

Among countries considered friendly to Israel up to now, such as Germany, issues such as harm to the rights of Palestinians beyond the Green Line, violence against Palestinians by Jewish settlers, the Israeli government’s settlement construction policy, and the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law, have become important considerations. Israel’s ignoring of the EU’s concerns could lead to sanctions on settlers becoming broadened to EU level (rather than being confined to individual states) and perhaps to approval by EU institutions of a ban on products of West Bank settlements. In general, Israel’s image in Europe, its largest trading partner, is at its lowest ebb for years, as the readiness of Europeans to sign the petition demanding the cutting of ties between Israel and the EU demonstrates.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 20, 2026.

Source link