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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is on a mission, and he is not giving up.
On Tuesday once again he will formally propose severing the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel. The proposal has hit a wall multiple times. Will it work this time?
Sanchez has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of setting the Middle East on fire and has doubled down on his criticism of the Iran war and the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon.
Established in 2000, the EU-Israel Association Agreement is the bedrock of the economic and political relationship between the two.
For months, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia have demanded an urgent review. And the EU’s own internal review found Israel is in breach of the agreement, citing grave violations of international law in Gaza and violent settler evictions in the West Bank.
Now, a European Citizens’ Initiative titled Justice for Palestine with over 1 million signatures is forcing the issue onto the agenda.
Crucially, a suspension would not mean a full trade ban. About 60% of Israeli exports to the EU already enjoy zero tariffs under standard WTO rules.
However, the remaining 37% rely on special, duty-free treatment granted exclusively by this agreement. Suspending it would slap sudden tariffs on Israeli machinery, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.
The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, with a relationship worth more than €45 billion a year.
The European Commission estimates this would impose an extra €227 million a year in duties on Israeli exports and freeze millions in bilateral EU funding for ongoing cooperation projects.
And to fully scrap the deal, the EU needs everyone’s agreement. However, suspending just the trade privileges requires only a qualified majority vote.
Although Israel has lost one of its staunchest allies in Viktor Orban’s Hungary, and with Italy taking a harder line amid attacks on Christian places of faith, the proposal still faces an uphill battle.
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