As review finds 'indications' of Gaza human rights breach, how close are EU-Israel trade relations?

Published on 24/06/2025 - 16:30 GMT+2

An soul reappraisal of nan EU-Israel Association Agreement last week recovered "indications" that Israel breached quality authorities obligations outlined successful Article 2 of nan statement complete its actions successful Gaza, particularly pinch respect to restricting humanitarian assistance.

Israel launched a subject run successful Gaza successful consequence to Hamas' attacks connected its ungraded connected October 7, 2023. The bloc's overseas ministers are group to meet successful July to talk nan review's outcome.

The Netherlands, together pinch 16 different EU personnel states, put successful a general review request pinch European External Action Service (the negotiated work of nan European Union), citing "Israel's blockade of humanitarian assistance deliveries to nan Gaza Strip and nan projected caller strategy for assistance distribution arsenic seemingly being incompatible pinch world humanitarian rule and principles."

Israel has rejected nan EU-Israel Association Agreement (EUSR) review, stating nan reappraisal "should not beryllium taken earnestly aliases utilized arsenic a ground for immoderate early actions aliases conversations".

The waste and acquisition narration betwixt nan 2 parties, which now finds itself nether accrued scrutiny, is significant. The European Union is Israel's largest trading partner, accounting for astir 32% of its full waste and acquisition of equipment successful 2024, according to Eurostat.

34.2% of Israel's imports came from nan EU for that year, while 28.8% of nan country's exports went to nan different way. 

Total waste and acquisition successful equipment betwixt nan EU and Israel successful 2024 amounted to €42.6 billion, pinch nan EU exporting €26.7 cardinal worthy of equipment to Israel.

The EU's exports to Israel were dominated by machinery and carrier instrumentality astatine 43%, followed by chemicals astatine 18% and different manufactured equipment astatine 11.7%.

On nan different hand, Israel is nan EU's 31st  largest trading partner, representing almost 0.8% of nan EU’s full waste and acquisition successful equipment successful 2024.

EU imports from Israel were worthy €15.9 cardinal successful nan aforesaid year.

43.9% of it was machinery and carrier equipment, while 18% were chemicals, and 12.1% were different manufactured goods.

Israel is nan EU’s third-biggest trading partner successful nan Mediterranean, aft Morocco and Algeria.

Can waste and acquisition beryllium affected by nan EU review's findings?

The bloc's overseas argumentation chief, Kaja Kallas, has stated that nan EU will "discuss further measures and travel backmost successful July" if Israel doesn't "improve nan situation" successful Gaza, aft reuniting pinch nan EU's 27 overseas affairs ministers connected 23 June.

However, a complete suspension of nan statement appears retired of nan mobility owed to a deficiency of unanimity among personnel states.

Plausible options see nan partial suspension of definite provisions related to free trade, research, technology, civilization and governmental dialogue.

Some options will require nan unanimous support of each 27 personnel states, while others will require a qualified majority, meaning astatine slightest 55% of countries representing astatine slightest 65% of nan bloc's population.

Human-rights defenders person besides pushed for nan suspension of nan EU's waste and acquisition relations pinch Israel.

“Member states successful favour of suspending nan statement must usage each their negotiated weight to guarantee that opponents of nan suspension, including Germany, afloat understand nan consequence of complicity and nan sadistic toll connected Palestinian lives of continued EU inaction," Amnesty International stated successful an unfastened missive connected 23 June.

"If nan EU fails to unrecorded up to these obligations arsenic a bloc, and seeks to shield itself from its clear ineligible obligations, its personnel states must unilaterally suspend each forms of practice that whitethorn lend to violations of world law.”

Video editor • Mert Can Yilmaz