What does it mean for the EU to review the association agreement with Israel?

BrusselsThe decision of the member states to review The European Union's association agreement with Israel is unprecedented. It came into force in 2000 and provides the legal basis for facilitating and strengthening economic and political relations between the two parties. Although some countries, such as Spain, have long urged the blog to review this pact, their attempts have always failed, and more pro-Zionist positions, such as that of Germany, have prevailed. It has only been now that the EU global body has considered—in the words of the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas—that the situation in Gaza is "intolerable, catastrophic and cruel" And, therefore, this Tuesday they agreed to investigate whether Tel Aviv complies with human rights, which is one of the conditions of the association agreement between the EU and Israel. Now, what is the future of this decision? Gaza. However, beyond the political message, diplomatic sources admit that it is highly unlikely that this economic pact will be terminated, or at least that it will be temporarily frozen pending a change in attitude from Tel Aviv. Precisely, the same sources indicate that the fact that it is a short-lived move and has only diplomatic meaning, allows the agreement to be reviewed.

In any case, the decision taken by the member states will be sent to the European Commission, which will be responsible for analyzing and issuing a report on the actions of the Netanyahu government. a verdict. However, it should be remembered that when the Spanish and Irish governments requested it, the European Commission of Ursula von der Leyen did not respond.

Once Brussels has issued the report, it would be the member states' turn to decide whether to revoke the association agreement. Since this is a trade pact, a decision would have to be made by qualified majority. That is, with 55 percent of the 27 member states voting in favor, representing at least 65 percent of the EU's total population. At this point, Germany, the EU's most demographically and influential partner, and its usual pro-Zionist allies within the EU could easily veto it.

The decision to revoke an EU association agreement with a third country for human rights violations is hardly unprecedented. The most recent example is the repression of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and the decision by member states in 2011 to break off the trade agreement, which resulted in restrictions on oil imports from Syria.

The EU, Israel's main trading partner,

A breach of the association agreement would have dire consequences for Israel, and for this reason, the most pro-Palestinian countries constantly urge the EU to use its leverage in trade matters with Tel Aviv to try to halt Israel's offensive. According to data from the European Commission itself, Israel's main trading partner is the European Union, and 32% of its international transactions in 2024 were with member states of the European Club. Furthermore, 34.2% of Israeli imports come from the EU, and 28.8% of exports go to the bloc. In contrast, Israel is the EU's 31st trading partner and accounts for only 0.8% of the European partners' total international trade.

On the other hand, it's worth noting that Germany remains the main arms exporter to Israel. According to several international media outlets, the German power sells 30% of all arms imported by Israel. Almost everything else is purchased from the United States, which remains Israel's main arms exporter and accounts for 68% of Israeli arms imports.