Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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26.To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of Ireland's request to the President of the European Commission regarding a review of the EU-Israel Association agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34148/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, in February 2024, the then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain wrote to the President of the European Commission requesting an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

I have subsequently raised this issue at successive meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council since then, including at the informal Foreign Affairs Council on 29 August. The Taoiseach raised the request in a meeting with President Von Der Leyen on 11 April.

At the Foreign Affairs Council on 27 May, I called for an urgent convening of an EU-Israel Association Council to review Israel’s compliance and this was agreed. The Israeli Ambassador to the EU has communicated that Israel will only participate on the basis of an agreed agenda which covers the full spectrum of the EU’s relationship with Israel. Ireland, along with many other Member States, made it clear that this is unacceptable and any discussion between the EU and Israel can not be a ‘business-as-usual’ meeting. Discussion between EU Member States and between the EU and Israel on the Council agenda are ongoing.

It will also be important that the European Union gives detailed consideration to the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on 19 July. This Advisory Opinion, which was requested by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2022, related to “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”. It made a number of significant findings that have a bearing on EU-Israel relations in a number of areas.