Spanish, Irish leaders call on Ursula von der Leyen to review EU-Israel trade accord over human rights concerns

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar have called for an “urgent review” of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, warning that Israel may be in breach of human rights obligations embedded in the pact. 

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, the two leaders called for “an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its obligations, including under the EU/Israel Association Agreement, which makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of the relationship.”

The EU-Israel Association Agreement, which governs trade relations between the EU and Israel, dates from 2000. Article 2 of the agreement states that relations between the parties "shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles."

If Israel is found to be in violation, the agreement needs to be reconsidered, Sánchez and Varadkar argue.  

“We are deeply concerned at the deteriorating situation in Israel and in Gaza, especially the impact the ongoing conflict is having on innocent Palestinians, especially children and women,” the two leaders say in the letter, seen by POLITICO. “The expanded Israeli military operation in the Rafah area poses a grave and imminent threat that the international community must urgently confront.” 

The intervention by the leaders of Spain and Ireland comes as the European Union has struggled to find consensus on the Israel-Gaza war since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7. 

Hungary and the Czech Republic are continuing to hold back sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, despite EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stating in December that sanctions were on the way. 

Both the United States and the United Kingdom have sanctioned a number of Israelis in recent weeks over activities in the West Bank.