Belgian Lawmaker Says EU-Israel Trade Deal Suspension Conditions Met

(MENAFN) A Belgian member of the European Parliament declared Thursday that grounds to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement have been formally satisfied, pointing to the accelerating expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and the unchecked flow of settlement-origin goods into European markets.

Yvan Verougstraete, president of Belgian party Les Engages, made the assertion following Israel's reported authorization of 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank — a move he characterized as a clear violation of international law. He argued that the combination of ongoing settlement activity and questionable trade practices leaves the EU with no defensible basis to maintain the agreement in its current form.

"The conditions to suspend the EU–Israel Agreement are met," he said in a statement issued to media outlets, including media.

At the heart of his argument lies a contradiction he says the EU can no longer ignore: the bloc's own legal position classifies Israeli settlements as illegal, yet settlement-produced goods continue to circulate freely across European markets.

"In this context, seeing products from these settlements entering the European market is simply unacceptable. This raises major legal, commercial, and ethical concerns," he said, warning that such trade provides direct economic fuel to settlement expansion.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement, which took effect in 2000, contains an explicit human rights clause conditioning the bilateral relationship on mutual respect for democratic principles and fundamental rights.

Verougstraete said he has formally escalated the matter to the European Commission, joined by fellow MEPs Ana Miranda Paz and Cecilia Strada, urging the institution to activate the agreement's suspension mechanisms.

"The European Union must not contribute, even indirectly, to the maintenance and development of situations that are illegal under international law," he stated, pressing the commission to align trade policy with its stated legal positions.

His call for action was unambiguous: "Europe cannot condemn the illegality of the settlements on one hand, and continue to accept their products on the other. Consistency is not optional, it is an obligation."

The remarks come against a backdrop of intensifying violence in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023. More than 1,148 Palestinians have been killed, 11,750 wounded, and approximately 22,000 arrested in the territory during that period.

The legal foundation underpinning Verougstraete's position was reinforced in July 2024, when the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion declaring Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and calling for the full evacuation of all settlements across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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