Von der Leyen admitted it would be hard to build a majority in favor of suspending parts of the EU–Israel Association Agreement.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told lawmakers in Strasbourg on Sept. 10 that the bloc’s executive branch plans to suspend parts of its trade partnership with Israel, impose sanctions on certain ministers and settlers, and establish a Palestinian donor group next month with a mechanism for Gaza reconstruction.
For the proposals to take effect, they must be approved by the Council of the European Union, where national governments decide collectively. Trade measures can pass with a qualified majority, but sanctions fall under foreign policy and require unanimous support from all 27 member states—making agreement difficult given the bloc’s divisions over Israel and the Palestinians.
Ireland, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands have urged suspending the EU’s trade pact with Israel, but Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic oppose the move.
Von der Leyen admitted it would be hard to build a majority in favor of suspending parts of the EU–Israel Association Agreement, which has been in place since 2000.
The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner. In 2024, about a third of Israel’s imports came from the EU, and nearly 30 percent of its exports went to the bloc.
“I know that any action will be too much for one and too little for others, but we must all take our own responsibility,” she told the lawmakers, adding that the events in Gaza and the suffering of children and families have “shaken the conscience of the world.”
The war in Gaza was sparked when Hamas-led terrorists abducted 251 people on Oct. 7, 2023, from Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 64,000 people have been killed since the start of the war. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in the count. The Epoch Times cannot verify the accuracy of the figure.
The conflict has plunged the territory into a humanitarian crisis, where Israel, alongside an international effort, coordinates aid initiatives.
While she backed a two-state solution for the region, von der Leyen expressed her solidarity with Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
“The hostages have now been held captive by Hamas terrorists for more than 700 days since October 7. That is 700 days of pain and suffering,” she said. “There can never be any place for Hamas, neither now nor in future because they are terrorists who want to destroy Israel, they are also inflicting terror on their own people, keeping their future hostage.”
