EU remains divided over trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements

European Union foreign ministers remain divided after discussions on imposing trade sanctions against Israel against the backdrop of increasing settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

Key points

• Ireland has additionally pushed for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a cooperation agreement signed in 2000 that forms the basis for trade ties with Israel.
• Ireland, the current holder of the EU council presidency, hosted an informal session of EU foreign ministers in Wicklow on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• The EU bloc is Israel's largest trading partner as bilateral trade of goods reached almost $50bn last year.
• EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas did not address the prospect of trading sanctions in a news conference after the informal session.
• It included an import licensing system, prohibitive tariffs or a ban, Reuters documented.

Reporting from Wicklow, Al Jazeera's Peter Smith remarked Ireland and Spain, with the backing of Belgium and the Netherlands, led the call for EU-wide restrictions against goods imported from illegal Israeli settlements at the session.

He remarked that Germany, Austria, Czechia and Hungary are clear that they would oppose any attempts to sanction illegal settlements, saying such a move would upset diplomatic channels with Israel.

Ireland was the first EU country to ban imported Israeli settlement goods. The country recognised a Palestinian state in 2024 against the backdrop of Israel's genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza and continues to criticise Israel's expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, the EU bloc is Israel's largest trading partner as bilateral trade of goods reached almost $50bn last year. The volume of trade has rose since 2023. EU exports to Israel rose from almost $30bn to regarding $32bn in 2025.

"We should be moving collectively. It is not credible for us to say we should uphold international law in one form and not do it in the other, " Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee remarked to journalists after the gathering.

"We're hearing that at the meetings of the foreign ministers in Wicklow this week, only Ireland raised the issue of the illegal settlements, " Irish Member of the European Parliament Lynn Boylan informed Al Jazeera.

She previously commented on proposals to curb trade with illegal Israeli settlements at a previous Gymnich session in July and stated at the time that the ministers debated three options. It included an import licensing system, prohibitive tariffs or a ban, Reuters documented.

Kallas remarked at the time that a plan for a ban received the strongest backing at the gathering that took place in Brussels, but there was no clear majority for any single option.

There is additionally debate on whether the imposition of trade restrictions requires unanimity from the ministers. EU trade decisions can be passed by a simple majority vote, but major political or policy decisions require a unanimous vote.

For context, a number of protesters demonstrated near the golf resort where the gathering was held and were seen holding signs that read "You need to boycott Israel now" and "Sanction Israel".

Taken together, the developments around EU remains divided over trade sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.