Ursula von der Leyen proposes suspending EU trade deal with Israel
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has proposed the EU’s trade agreement with Israel be suspended, in protest over the “catastrophic” conditions caused by its ongoing war in Gaza.
In a speech to the European Parliament, Dr von der Leyen said the European Union “cannot afford to be paralysed” in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
A more limited proposal to suspend Israel’s access to EU Horizon research funding for start-up companies remains blocked, due to opposition from Germany, Italy, Hungary and a small number of other member states.
Campaigners and activists have long called for the EU to suspend its free-trade deal with Israel as a way to put pressure on the Israeli government to pull back from its devastating bombardment of Gaza.
The proposal from the commission, which is the EU’s executive arm, would need a weighted majority of the 27 member states to suspend the trade deal, meaning Germany or Italy would need to shift positions for the measure to be approved.
At least 64,000 Palestinian have been killed by Israeli forces during almost two years of war. Israel’s invasion of Gaza was launched in response to the October 7th, 2023, attacks by Hamas militants on southern Israel.
Famine has been declared by a humanitarian monitor in parts of Gaza, with warnings it would spread throughout the bombarded Palestinian enclave if Israel continued to restrict the entry of aid.
“What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world,” Dr von der Leyen told the European Parliament. “People killed while begging for food. Mothers holding lifeless babies. These images are simply catastrophic.
“We will propose sanctions on the extremist ministers and on violent settlers and we will also propose a partial suspension of the Association Agreement on trade-related matters,” she said in her speech to MEPs.
Dr von der Leyen, a centre right German politician, said the EU would also put its “bilateral support” to Israel on hold.
The freeze in payments and financial support would not affect the EU’s funding of Israeli civil society organisations or Yad Vashem, the official memorial institution to the victims of the Holocaust.
The commission has been criticised for being too slow to push back against Israel, during its near two-year war in Gaza, with Dr von der Leyen often the target of that criticism.