Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 April 2025
238. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the recourse open to Ireland should a review of Israel's human rights obligations under the EU Israel Association Agreement not be forthcoming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15467/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe EU-Israel Association Agreement provides that the relations between the parties will be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which constitute an 'essential element' of that Agreement.
In principle, if the EU and its Member States formed a view that there is a serious and persistent violation of the requirement to respect human rights as an essential element of the Association Agreement and that the situation is one of special urgency, it could seek to rely on Article 79 to suspend the agreement in whole or in part.
In doing so, there is a requirement to prioritise those measures which least disturb the functioning of the agreement. A Council Decision would be required to suspend an Association Agreement, with unanimity likely to be the applicable voting rule.
In November 2024, then High Representative, Josep Borrell, updated the Council on a legal assessment of Israel’s respect of human rights and international law. Against this background, Foreign Ministers discussed the proposal of the High Representative to suspend the political dialogue between the EU and Israel under the Association Agreement. This proposal did not achieve political consensus.
Ireland will continue to advocate for a meaningful interpretation of Israel’s human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement. I welcome that at the EU-Israel Association Council in February, the European Union clearly recalled Article 2 of the Association Agreement at the outset of its statement.
Furthermore, the EU-Israel Association Agreement must, in the Government’s view, be interpreted and applied in accordance with the obligations of the EU and its Member States under international law. These obligations have been clarified by the International Court of Justice in its recent advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
