Members of the European Parliament have criticised the EU’s decision to review its Association Agreement with Israel, based on the Jewish state’s alleged human rights violations in the Gaza war. EU Foreign Ministers will debate the issue on Monday and could decide to suspend all or parts of the Association Agreement with Israel.
On May 20, Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said after a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers that the EU would launch a review to assess whether Israel had fulfilled its commitments under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which says that relations "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this agreement."
Seventeen member states out of 27 supported a Dutch proposal tabled by Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, calling for the bloc to review its wide-ranging trade and cooperation agreement with Israel. Kallas was expected to share her report on this matter with EU member state today. The EU is Israel’s biggest trade partner, with the trading relationship valued at more than €42.6 billion (£36.4 billion) a year.
Rihards Kols, a member of the European Parliament from Latvia’s National Alliance party, voiced his opposition to the review.
He told the JC: “This is not the first time such a call has been made. This is a spasm from certain member states and political forces in the European Parliament that are pushing their own agenda.”
He said that the EU applies a “double standard” in its human rights criticism – holding Israel to a different standard than it does other countries.
“There are numerous countries that the EU has signed association agreements with that have actually internal problems with human rights violations, but if we look at Israel internally, it's a democracy,” he said.
That’s a sentiment echoed by others as well. “For the first time, this kind of process is being initiated against any country in the region – and notably, there is no other democracy in the region besides Israel,” one diplomat told JC. “It’s striking that this review mechanism is being used on the closest ally the region offers to the EU, while other countries in the region that also enjoy Association Agreement with the EU, have problematic human rights records and are not democracies, and have never faced such a scrutiny. The double standard is undeniable.”
Lukas Mandl, a member of the European Parliament from Austria’s
People’s Party, told the JC that he had concerns about the “legitimacy” of the review.
“Israel has not been included in the investigation. Nobody is officially talking to Israel about it, there is no written request for any statement, no deliberation of any kind,” he said.
“I tabled a formal parliamentary request on this matter two weeks ago, because this whole process goes against any ‘rule of law’ standard: to do an investigation about an entity that's not even asked, requested or confronted with questions itself.”
Israel did have the opportunity to answer a series of questions submitted by the European External Action Service (EEAS) on June 12, regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but a diplomat in Brussels said the Jewish state has not been able see the EU’s review and provide a direct response to its allegations.
The Israeli embassy in Brussels has criticised the EU for the timing of the review, given Israel’s ongoing military operation in Iran which “serves core European interests and security”.
“Recent developments show that the common ground, interests, and threats are greater than the issues on which we disagree,” a spokesperson said.
“The role of the EU the day after in Gaza will require close dialogue with Israel, and therefore there is also a European interest in maintaining the positive momentum in the relations.
“While Israel acts against forces that threaten regional stability and Europe, there is no room to advance a process that would cast a shadow over the relations and harm the dialogue between us, especially now.”
When the review was first launched, the EU's High Representative Kallas made it clear the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza should be one of Israel’s top priorities.
In a letter to Kallas partially published in Politico, Dutch minister Veldkamp said that the Israeli system of distributing aid “does not appear to be compatible with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, and would not allow for the unconditional and unhindered distribution of aid to people in need”.
“The situation in Gaza compels us to take this step,” he said. “Our government will draw a line in the sand.”
For the EU to sanction Israel, Berlin’s vote will be critical. Last month, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said he no longer supported the Israeli army's military campaign in Gaza. “To harm the civilian population in such a way... can no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism,” he said.
However, the chancellor has come out strongly in his support for Israel in its ongoing conflict with Iran.
“Israel is doing the dirty work for the rest of us,” he said at the G7 summit in Canada.
Some observers anticipate that the EU will find Israel in violation of the human rights clause.
“We can safely assume what the review will say; if it’s going to be in any way credible it’ll say Israel is in breach of Article 2,” an EU diplomat told Euronews, adding: “The main matter of business is getting a ceasefire in Gaza – and whatever we decide to do, it should be aimed at getting at that.”
Anouar El Anouni, the spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy at the European External Action Service, told the JC:
“On May 20, the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, decided to launch the review of the complaint made about Israel based on Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
“She had a strong majority of member states who were in favour of launching the review, so in line with her prerogative, she decided to launch the exercise.
“The exercise has been conducted, and is still being conducted, by the European External Action Service, and the High Representative has said herself that at the next Foreign Affairs council on Monday, the review will be discussed with member states.
“It is premature to discuss the next steps, as the review will first need to be discussed with member states.”
