European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced on Monday that a majority of the bloc's member states are in favor of taking action to restrict trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels following a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Kallas stated that ambassadors have been tasked with advancing the initiative, noting that an extraordinary meeting on the matter is likely.
Kallas emphasized that the proposed measures, which were presented by the European Commission at the request of the European Council, are specifically targeted at illegal settlements rather than Israel as a state. She described these settlements as factors that undermine the two-state solution. According to Kallas, the options under consideration include a full or partial ban on imports of goods from these settlements, the implementation of stricter export licensing requirements, and the potential use of tariffs.
The EU official highlighted that all 27 member states agree that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. She acknowledged that the bloc’s current differentiation policy—which requires settlement products to be labeled separately—has been ineffective in curbing trade due to inconsistent implementation across the union. Kallas also noted that there is a legal opinion indicating these new measures could be adopted through qualified majority voting.
