Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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183. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the outcome of the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. [36907/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In response to concerns regarding the situation in Gaza, on 20 May the EU Foreign Affairs Council agreed to a review of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. As the Deputy is aware, Ireland and Spain called for this step in February 2024. This is a position that I reiterated in a letter to the High Representative in advance of the May Foreign Affairs Council, alongside my counterparts from Spain, Slovenia and Luxembourg.

I welcome that the review of Israel’s compliance with its obligations under Article 2 has now been finalised. It is clear from the review that Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations. This is a significant finding. At the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 June, the High Representative said she will communicate this clearly to Israel. The High Representative also briefed the European Council on the outcome of the review at its meeting on 26 June. I was clear with my EU counterparts at the June Foreign Affairs Council that there must now be concrete options for follow-up action to this review, which will be discussed at this month’s meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on 15 July. Last month, I joined nine other EU Foreign Ministers in writing a letter to the High Representative calling for the EU to undertake a detailed review of its compliance with the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ. This review will now be taken forward in parallel to the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.