The European Commission is expected to propose a range of options to restrict EU trade with Israeli settlements after member states piled on the pressure at a minister-level meeting on Monday.
The European Commission is expected to present options on how to restrict imports of goods coming from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories ahead of a gathering of EU Foreign Ministers in July, according to five diplomats who spoke to Euronews.
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Following a deadlock that had persisted for months, the EU executive has been under sustained pressure from a majority of European governments to put forth a concrete proposal on restricting trade with the settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.
During a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica said that, given the strong push from member states, the Commission would prepare some options before the next ministerial meeting on 13 July, five diplomatic sources told Euronews, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
However, which types of options will be proposed is still unclear. The Commission has so far been reluctant to come forward with trade restriction proposals, considering that the Council has not been able to find a qualified majority to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a much more significant measure already on the table.
Last week, a report by advocacy group Global Echo Litigation Centre suggested that agricultural products produced in the Palestinian-occupied territories entered the EU market mislabelled as legitimate Israeli goods.
In this regard, the Commission might present corrective measures if the report's evidence was corroborated.
"On the issue of trade with illegal settlements, many member states called for proposals from the Commission. I will convey this request, and I will ask the Commission to prepare ahead of the next Foreign Affairs Council a list of options for possible trade measures, including measures aimed at preventing imports of goods originating from illegal settlements," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters after the meeting.
Israel recently introduced measures aimed at strengthening its control over the West Bank and East Jerusalem in areas including property law, planning and licensing, steps that go against key agreements signed under the 1993 Oslo peace agreement.
Settlement activity in the Palestinian territories is regarded as illegal, based on a 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which found Israeli settlements to be unlawful.
In 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that food products produced in Israeli settlements in occupied territories must be clearly labelled as coming from an “Israeli settlement,” rather than being described simply as “Product of Israel.”
A proposal to impose tariffs on goods from Israeli settlements would be decided under qualified majority voting, requiring the support of at least 55% of EU member states representing at least 65% of the EU’s total population.
A group of member states, including France and Sweden, has already argued in favour of this approach, arguing that tariffs fall under trade policy and therefore require only a qualified majority.
France's Minister for Foreign Trade, Nicolas Forissier, recently told Euronews that restricting EU trade with Israeli settlements was "not aggressive but normal".
By contrast, the Commission has stalled on the matter, arguing that such tariffs would constitute sanctions under EU law, requiring unanimity among member states, for which there is no consensus.
The Council Legal Service, the institution's influential legal advisory body, has reportedly disputed this view, strengthening the push for trade restrictions to curb Israel's illegal expansion in the West Bank.
The Israeli government rejects the designation of those settlements as illegal, classifying them as "temporary sites."
In May, the EU adopted restrictive measures against extremist settlers and the organisations supporting them, after the new Hungarian government lifted the previous veto on the move imposed by former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
"There was a clear understanding that the options need to be clear. I will take this back to the college [of Commissioners]," Kallas said.
