Spain, along with Ireland and Slovenia, presents this Tuesday at the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) the request for a total break of the association agreement between Israel and the European Union. This is a process that requires unanimity, which seems very difficult, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, already suggested yesterday that it would be better to first consider measures that "are already on the table." However, the Spanish government has decided to proceed with this request.
"Spain, along with Slovenia and Ireland, has requested that today the suspension of the association agreement between the EU and Israel be discussed and debated based on its Article 2, on the fact that the European Union can only have a relationship with Israel based on respect for human rights," stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, upon arrival at the FAC meeting taking place in Luxembourg.
"Since the last time Spain, along with other countries, made this same request, Israel has only continued to advance and escalate the spiral of violence and war. Everything is worse," continued the Spanish official. "We have to clearly tell Israel," Albares continued, "that it needs to change course, that war cannot be the only way Israel relates to its Middle Eastern neighbors, because Israel is also a Middle Eastern state."
"And the question I am going to pose to all the other EU countries is: What more needs to happen for the European Union to be moved by the way Israel conducts its relations with the rest of the Middle Eastern states? What more needs to happen for the European Union to be moved by the systematic violations of international law and human rights committed by Israel, and therefore it is time to send a strong signal that we cannot maintain a relationship as we have had until now," emphasized the Foreign Affairs Minister.
However, as already mentioned, there are very few chances for the request to move forward. Diplomatic sources from several countries already indicated yesterday that there would not be unanimity to push through the total break. That is why Kallas called for focusing on those actions that are already "on the table," which were highlighted by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during the State of the Union address in September: partial suspension of the trade agreement, and sanctions on Israeli ministers and extremist settlers.
For this action, a qualified majority would be necessary, meaning the approval of 55% of the Member States representing 65% of the total EU population. The measures were left hanging after Trump's peace plan, but they could be revisited during this FAC if it becomes evident that countries demand it.