EU to gauge member states' willingness to punish Israel

Brussels: The EU’s top diplomat said Monday the bloc will gauge the willingness of member states to take measures against Israel, after Spain re-upped demands to suspend a cooperation deal.

Foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc are expected to discuss the matter at a meeting in Luxembourg Tuesday after a call from Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Attitudes towards Israel among key EU member states, hardened over its conduct in the war in Gaza, stiffened further after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and a new law on the death penalty for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Facing alarm at the civilian toll exacted in the Gaza war, the EU last year already put on the table a raft of potential measures to punish Israel including cutting trade ties or sanctioning government ministers.

But so far none of the steps laid out by Brussels has garnered enough support from member states to be put into action.

Suspending the entirety of the EU’s cooperation agreement — as Spain is pushing for — requires unanimity among the bloc’s 27 countries and would almost certainly be blocked by allies of Israel.

More feasible could be suspending the part of the deal facilitating closer trade ties, a move that only requires support from a weighted majority of EU countries.

That would require a shift in position from EU heavyweights such as Germany or Italy. Rome has already signalled a tougher line on Israel by suspending a defence agreement.

“We already have the measures on the table; some of them that require a qualified (weighted) majority,” EU foreign policy Kaja Kallas said.

“First, I think it should be assessed whether it’s possible to move with those, if the member states have the wish to do so, to put pressure on Israel.”

The recent ouster of staunch Israel backer Viktor Orban in elections in Hungary has also added to the likelihood of movement on measures.

A separate proposal for sanctions on “extremist” Israeli settlers in the West Bank had been vetoed by Budapest for months.

Diplomats and EU officials say they hope to get the greenlight for those measures soon but that it could take until Hungary’s new government comes to power in May.