Sooner or later “it will be a more serious debate,” Michel said, citing the EU-Israel Association Agreement as one of the topics to be carefully considered.
The President of the European Council commented on accusations that the EU does not apply to Israel in the field of human rights and international law as it does to Russia.
If the EU wants to have global influence, the bloc must avoid the trap of double standards, Michel said. He emphasized that the bloc has consistently called for respect for international law. If the EU does not, the bloc will lose its ability to convince the rest of the world that what Russia is doing in Ukraine is wrong, he added.
However, he admitted that it is not easy to get the 27 EU member states to agree on a common view of what is and is not in accordance with international law.
According to Michel, at the summit in Brussels last week, several EU leaders raised the issue of the association agreement with Israel. He pointed out that EU foreign ministers have already discussed a trade agreement.
Given the criticism of Israel’s conduct of offensives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in response to terrorist attacks by the groups “Hamas” and “Hezbollah”, Michel believes that high-level EU negotiations on further restrictions on political and economic cooperation with Israel are possible.
Spain and Ireland have previously called on the European Commission (EC) to review Israel’s compliance with international law and human rights in the context of the EU-Israel trade agreement. The association agreement between the EU and Israel covers industry, energy, transport and tourism.