Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 March 2026
134. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if discussions are taking place with other European States on curtailing the Israeli trade agreement due to their illegal war with Palestine, Lebanon and Iran; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22963/26]
View answerIn September 2025, following a review of Israel's compliance with Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which found that actions taken by the Israeli government represented a breach of essential elements relating to respect for human rights and democratic principles, the European Commission put forward a number of proposals, one of which was to suspend the core trade-related provisions of the Association Agreement. This would have the effect of removing the preferential tariffs afforded to goods from the State of Israel under the terms of the Association Agreement.
Ireland welcomed the Commission proposals and encouraged fellow Member States to support them.
I have continued to make our position clear in meetings of the EU Foreign Affairs Council that the proposals, including the suspension of the core trade-related provisions of the Association Agreement and the partial suspension of Israel's participation in Horizon Europe, must remain on the table. In her State of the Union address, the President of the European Commission was clear on the rationale for tabling the package of proposals, which remains valid.
I most recently addressed this at the February Foreign Affairs Council and will continue to raise this issue in my engagements at EU-level.
