Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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14. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 15 of 27 June 2024, the status of his engagement at EU level in relation to the February 2024 request seeking an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40618/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The EU-Israel Association Agreement provides the legal basis for trade relations between the EU and its Member States and Israel.

The Agreement provides that the relations between parties will be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which constitute an 'essential element' of that Agreement.

In February 2024, the then Taoiseach, together with Prime Minister Sánchez of Spain, wrote to the President of the European Commission asking for an urgent review of Israel’s compliance with this element of the Agreement and, if it concludes that Israel is in breach of it, that it propose appropriate measures for the consideration of the Council.

In addition, the Association Council established under the EU-Israel Agreement is tasked with examining any major issues arising within the framework of the Agreement, and any other bilateral or international issues of mutual interest.

I have repeatedly called in meetings of EU Foreign Ministers for an EU-Israel Association Council to be convened urgently, in order to review Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Agreement. As the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has made clear, the next Association Council meeting cannot be ‘business as usual’.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement must in the Government’s view be interpreted and applied in accordance with the obligations of the EU and its Member States under international law. These obligations have been clarified by the International Court of Justice in its recent advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Ireland, together with likeminded EU member states, will continue to press within the EU for a fundamental review of EU-Israel relations, including the EU-Israel Association Agreement.