"EU lawmakers back Ireland, Spain in call for EU-Israel agreement review over Gaza"

Backing a call from Ireland and Spain, 78 members of the European Parliament representing a majority of political groups stated they would support a revision of the EU-Israel Association Agreement over Tel Aviv’s breach of human rights obligation in Gaza, according to a letter obtained by Euractiv.

Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday (February 14) issued a joint call for an “urgent review” of whether Israel is complying with human rights obligations under its trade agreement with the EU, asking the European Commission to propose “appropriate measures” that could be taken if Israel is found to be in breach. 

The letter, circulated among MEPs for signatures since Wednesday afternoon, after the two countries’ request became public, also calls “to undertake an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its obligations, including under the EU/Israel Association Agreement,” without going into specifics.

The 78 EU lawmakers, who include only one political group leader, Spanish socialist Iratxe García Pérez, want to ensure the application of Article 2, which establishes that EU-Israel relations “shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles”.

They also urge the Commission to present “appropriate measures to be taken” as soon as possible, “to ensure the coherence of the EU external action.” [...]