Germany and Italy have blocked a bid to suspend a European Union trade pact with Israel.
Spain, Slovenia and Ireland urged a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday to debate suspending the association agreement due to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and violence in the occupied West Bank. However, opponents said the idea has been definitively shelved.
Supporters of the move insisted that the bloc can no longer remain “on the sidelines” as violence continues and conditions deteriorate in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, all of which have suffered from Israeli wars.
However, the effort always appeared unlikely because the EU is clearly split on its approach to Israel.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the proposal “inappropriate”, insisting that more talks are needed despite the daily reports of violence committed by Israeli forces.
“We have to talk with Israel about the critical issues,” Wadephul said at the start of the meeting. “That has to be done in a critical, constructive dialogue with Israel.”
His Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, joined him in the pushback, saying: “No decision will be taken today.” After the meeting, he told reporters that the bid had been shelved.
“Other possible initiatives will be discussed at the next ministerial meeting on May 11, and we will evaluate them,” he said, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.
Before the meeting, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said he expected “every European country to uphold what the International Court of Justice and the UN say on human rights and the defence of international law”. “Anything different would be a defeat for the European Union,” he added.
In a joint letter sent last week to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, the governments of Spain, Slovenia and Ireland said Israel had taken a series of measures that “contravene human rights and violate international law and international humanitarian law”, adding that they breached the 1995 agreement that outlines political, economic and trade relations between the EU and Israel.
They said repeated appeals to Israel to reverse course had been ignored. The ministers pointed to a recently passed Israeli law that would impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted in military courts of killing Israelis, describing it as “a grave violation of fundamental human rights” and a further step in the “systematic persecution, oppression, violence and discrimination” faced by Palestinians.
They also cited the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying conditions there were “unbearable” with continuing violations of an October “ceasefire” and insufficient aid entering the territory.
The letter warned that violence in the West Bank was also intensifying with settlers acting “with absolute impunity” and Israeli military operations causing civilian deaths.
“The European Union can no longer remain on the sidelines,” the ministers wrote, calling for “bold and immediate action” and saying all options should remain on the table.
The three countries argued Israel was in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which ties relations to respect for human rights. An EU review had already found Israel was failing to meet those obligations, they said, adding that the situation has deteriorated further since then.
During a donor conference in Brussels, Kallas said the estimated cost of rebuilding Gaza had risen to $71bn.
Ireland and Spain first pushed for a review of the agreement in 2024, but the effort failed to win backing from member states supportive of Israel. A later Dutch-led initiative succeeded in triggering the EU assessment, which concluded Israel had “likely” breached its obligations under the pact.
Possible trade measures, including suspending parts of the relationship, were later discussed but not implemented after Israel pledged to significantly increase humanitarian aid entering Gaza.