'Unanimous support' needed to review EU-Israel trade ties

The EU's next trade commissioner has said any review of EU-Israel trade can only come as a result of the unanimous support of EU member states.

Maroš Šefčovič was responding to a question from Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan during his hearing at the European Parliament as trade commissioner-designate.

Ireland and Spain have been pushing member states and the European Commission to threaten trade measures against Israel due to its activities in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank.

Israel has been accused of breaching Article 2, the human rights clause in the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which governs bilateral relations, including trade.

So far, there has been no consensus among member states over the call by Ireland and Spain for the trade relationship to be examined by the European Commission.

Representing the Left group in the European Parliament, Ms Boylan asked Mr Šefčovič if he would "commit to upholding international law" on the issue of EU-Israel trade.

"The EU remains Israel's largest trading partner, despite the fact that the International Court of Justice has ruled that there is a credible risk that Israel is committing genocide on Gaza," she said.

"You're familiar with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, that trade is conditional on respect for human rights and democratic principles.

"There are 40,000 Palestinians now dead. Gaza has been completely levelled. None of the hospitals are functioning.

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"A polio vaccination centre was targeted over the weekend. So, it's never been clearer that Article 2 has been breached, and breached consistently by Israel."

Mr Šefčovič responded that he agreed that "the situation in Gaza is appalling, and we are faced with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis."

He said the EU was deploying all instruments at its disposal to ensure there was a push for a ceasefire in the Middle East and for the opening of channels to deliver large quantities of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

However, he said that when it came to the EU-Israel Association Agreement, it could only be changed by unanimity among member states.

Ms Boylan responded by saying that the EU was not using all the tools at its disposal, and that there was a double standard when it came to sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

She said that these were the correct response but that similar sanctions were not being taken against Israel.

"You have to ask the question, why would any trading partner comply with the rules of trade with the EU when they can simply point to Israel and say, this country can just trash European, international law, trade law, and have no consequences whatsoever."

Asked if the European Commission would share any legal advice about the impact of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion, that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories was illegal, Mr Šefčovič said it was a matter for the EU’s incoming foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

However, he said that the EU-Israel Association Agreement was a "platform" for the EU to have "very open, frank and tough conversations with [Israel] if needed.

"I can tell you that we are using this platform to communicate to the Israelis very clearly our position on the appalling situation in Gaza, on the need of humanitarian aid, on cessation of violence, on the ceasefire, which is needed, and also on the need to have a two-state solution," he said.

EU Commissioners-designate are undergoing hearings before a range of European Parliament committees between today and 12 November.

Ireland’s commissioner-designate Michael McGrath will undergo his hearing as the next Justice Commissioner tomorrow morning before a combination of three committees.