Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for the question. On 14 February 2024, the then Taoiseach, along with Prime Minister Sánchez of Spain, wrote to the President of the European Commission requesting an urgent review of whether Israel was complying with its humanitarian rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Furthermore, the letter requested that the Commission propose appropriate measures for the consideration of the Council, should it find that Israel was in breach of its obligations.

A review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, initiated by the Foreign Affairs Council in May 2025, found that actions taken by the Israeli Government represented a breach of essential elements relating to respect for human rights and democratic principles. The European Commission subsequently put forward a number of proposals, one of which was to suspend the core trade-related provisions of the Association Agreement. Ireland has welcomed the Commission proposals and encouraged other member states to support them. Notwithstanding the positive and welcome recent developments with regard to a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, Ireland along with other member states, has made clear our view that the proposals should remain on the table. In her state of the Union address, the President of the European Commission was clear on the rationale for tabling the package, which remains valid, as we discussed last week.

The Government has always been of the view that the EU-Israel Association Agreement must be interpreted and applied in accordance with the obligations of the EU and its Member States under international law. In June, the Government approved the general scheme of the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (prohibition of importation of goods) Bill. The main purpose of the Bill is to prohibit the importation of goods into the State from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. It remains the Government’s preference that collective action would be taken at EU level and we continue to pursue this. At the EU level, the primary objective right now is ensuring the success of what is a very fragile ceasefire and peace deal.

In addition, the Tánaiste, in his capacity as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, wrote to High Representative Kallas in advance of the June Foreign Affairs Council to ask how the Commission assesses the impact on the EU-Israel Association Agreement of the International Court of Justice, ICJ, advisory opinion of July 2024. The High Representative responded to his letter on 17 October, indicating the Commission’s view that the EU’s current approach is in line with the spirit and letter of the ICJ advisory opinion. Our assessment is different, so we are currently studying the detail of the response provided by the High Representative and considering next steps.

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