BRUSSELS — An EU plan to sanction Israel’s government ministers and cut back on trade ties has been put on ice as a leading group of member countries believes it’s no longer necessary in light of the U.S.-brokered peace agreement to end the war in Gaza.
The original push is now unlikely to find sufficient support at meetings of foreign ministers and EU leaders this month, according to four European diplomats, granted anonymity to speak to POLITICO about the closed-door talks. An agreement among all 27 capitals would be needed to impose the penalties, and despite growing pressure on the EU to act, the deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump has divided national governments on the way forward. Separate measures to restrict trade could be introduced with the backing of a smaller group of countries, but this too now looks unlikely, according to the diplomats.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used her State of the Union address in September to announce she would move to blacklist “extremist ministers,” impose restrictions on violent West Bank settlers and pause bilateral payments to Israel.
Those proposals are due to be discussed at a Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Oct. 20 and a summit of leaders in Brussels on Oct. 23. Despite that, draft documents reveal that no consensus has yet been achieved.
In comments to POLITICO, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot — whose country has been pushing for a tougher stance on Israel — said it was “regrettable” the EU had taken more than two years to present measures.
“The credibility of the EU’s foreign policy has been seriously shaken,” he said. “For many citizens, it is still difficult to understand why the EU is incapable of taking firm decisions.”
Germany, Hungary and a handful of other delegations have consistently opposed the implementation of sanctions, even though there has been broad agreement at the political level and a joint EU declaration backing steps against settlers accused of human rights breaches.
In the wake of the announcement that Hamas and Israel had “signed off on the first phase” of a pact to end the war, European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho this week hinted the bloc could change its stance.
The sanctions were “proposed in a given context, and if the context changes, that could eventually lead to a change of the proposal,” she said.
According to the diplomats who spoke to POLITICO, the Commission currently doesn’t intend to withdraw the plan even if the prospect of a lasting ceasefire has cast it into uncertainty.
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