EU faces petition to suspend trade agreement with Israel

More than 1.3 million EU citizens have signed the European Citizens' Initiative "Justice for Palestine, Stop EU trade with criminals," calling on the European Commission to suspend the EU‑Israel Association Agreement. The petition, launched on 13 January 2026, reached the required one‑million‑signature threshold in 13 member states, far exceeding the minimum of seven, and claims that Israel is responsible for alleged war crimes and genocide in Gaza.

The Commission will now verify the signatures; each member state has two months to review the data. If the threshold is confirmed, the Commission must give a formal response within six months, which could lead to a suspension of the agreement that governs €42.6 billion of trade in 2024 and cooperation in research, industry and energy. The move comes amid divided positions among EU governments, with Germany urging caution while countries such as Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands have already taken steps to limit trade with Israeli settlements. EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss the issue.