EU-Israeli relations will be scrutinized more closely in the future, outgoing European Council President Charles Michel said in an interview with the European Newsroom (enr), which dpa is part of.
Sooner or later “it will be a more serious debate,” Michel told the enr in remarks published on Friday, singling out the EU-Israel Association Agreement as one topic for scrutiny.
The European Council president was addressing a question about how to deal with accusations that the EU does not challenge Israel on human rights and international law in the same way it does for Russia.
If the EU wants to pursue global influence, the bloc must avoid the trap of double standards, Michel said. He stressed that the bloc has consistently called for international law to be respected.
Should the EU fail to do so, the bloc would lose its ability to “convince the rest of the world” that what Russia is doing in Ukraine is wrong, Michel said.
Michel acknowledged, however, the difficulties of getting 27 EU countries to agree on a shared assessment of what is in line with international law and what is not.
According to Michel, several EU leaders raised the association agreement with Israel at a summit last week in Brussels. He noted EU foreign ministers were already discussing the trade deal.
Amidst criticism of Israel’s conduct in its offensives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, in response to Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist attacks, Michel believes high-level EU talks are possible on future restrictions on political and economic cooperation with Israel.
Spain and Ireland have previously called on the European Commission to review Israel’s compliance with international law and human rights obligations under the EU-Israel trade agreement.
The association agreement between the EU and Israel covers industry, energy, transport and tourism.
