The measures promised by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her annual speech on the state of the union last week are now being formally presented.
– Today, I have presented a robust sanctions package. The goal is not to punish Israel. The goal is to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, says EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas at a press conference in Brussels.
Stop ministers
This is what the Commission wants:
Temporarily freeze parts of the trade rules in its cooperation agreement with Israel – which is expected to result in an additional cost of 227 million euros per year (almost 2.5 billion kronor).
Impose sanctions on Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – considered the most extreme in the country's government.
Impose sanctions on three additional Israeli settlers and six organizations considered extremist – as well as ten additional representatives of Hamas.
Freeze financial support to certain parts of the EU's contacts and exchange with Israel – to a value of 19.7 million euros (216 million kronor).
Needs support
The latter is the only thing that the EU Commission can decide entirely on its own. Otherwise, a green light is also required from the EU's member states.
For sanctions against ministers and settlers, complete unanimity is required. For the trade part, a yes is needed from at least 15 countries representing at least two-thirds of the EU's population.
Germany hesitates
The EU's former Foreign Minister Josef Borrell already proposed sanctions against Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir in the summer of 2024, but never got enough support among the member states.
Even this time, resistance from countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic suggests that it will be difficult to reach a decision. Hesitation from, among others, Germany and Italy means that even the trade measures will have a hard time getting through.
