In a politically sensitive moment: the new move in the European Union

Spain plans to propose today (Tuesday) to terminate the Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel – the agreement that regulates the relations between Israel and the Union. There is no real chance that the Spanish proposal will be approved, but it symbolizes additional political pressure on Jerusalem at a time of great political tension between Israel and Europe.

• “A government that violates international law or the principles of the European Union cannot be its partner,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. His country is expected to officially propose tomorrow to cancel the association agreement at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Union.
• On Saturday, the foreign ministers of Spain, Ireland and Slovenia sent a letter to the European Union’s foreign minister Kaya Callas, in which they claimed that the approval of the death penalty by the Knesset and violent actions by settlers in Judea and Samaria are a violation of basic human rights – and on this basis they accused Israel of violating the association agreement.

• In recent months, more than 1.1 million citizens of the Union have signed a petition calling on the leaders of the Union to cancel the agreement with Israel. More than 400,000 French citizens signed the petition, along with 260,000 Italians and 140,000 Spaniards.
• The Spanish proposal has no real chance of passing as it requires unanimous agreement among the EU countries. N12 has learned that the Czech Republic intends to oppose any proposal of this kind, and other countries such as Germany are also expected to oppose.
• Similar proposals against Israel previously raised in the European Union were blocked by a group of countries, including Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

• Although the proposal is expected to fall, it still exerts renewed political pressure on Jerusalem, and it seems that Spain and other countries recognize an hour of political fitness. In recent weeks, there have been several political conflicts between Israel and European countries, including Germany, Italy and France.
• Israel also lost Hungary’s automatic veto in the European Union this month, after Orban’s loss in the elections. The new Hungarian Prime Minister Petar Medyar announced that he will examine each decision on its own, in contrast to Orban’s unusual policy of vetoing any initiative against Israel.