Spain, Ireland, Slovenia to demand end to EU ‘association’ with Israel

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez has said that Spain will demand an end to the EU’s ‘association agreement’ with Israel at tomorrow’s (21 April 2026) meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Spain will be joined by the governments of Ireland and Slovenia. The association agreement gives Israel preferential trade access to the EU as well as setting a framework for political negotiations.

Spain moves further on Israel again

Sánchez told a rally in Andalusia that he is calling for the move because:

a government that violates international law or the principles of the EU cannot be its partner.

Sánchez has been one of the few EU leaders to take a strong stance – or any at all – against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its wars on Lebanon and Iran. In April 2026, he derided ‘leaders’ who were fawning over Trump’s supposed ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran, saying they were “praising those who set the house on fire” for turning up with a bucket. A month earlier, Spain removed its ambassador from the colony.

Last Saturday 19 April, the Spanish, Irish and Slovenian foreign ministers wrote to the EU’s senior diplomat Kaja Kallas, accusing Israel of breaching its obligations under the agreement:

including executive decisions, military decisions and laws adopted by the Knesset, that contravene human rights and violate international law and international humanitarian law. Our many statements in this regard, and direct calls for the Government of Israel to fully comply with its international and moral obligations, and to revert those measures, have been ignored.

The letter goes on to says that an agreement with Israel is incompatible with EU core values:

In such a grave situation, we call on the European Union to uphold its moral and political responsibility, and to defend the very core values that have underpinned the European project since its foundation. Respect for human rights must remain a fundamental pillar and guiding principle of all our actions and of all our relationships with our partners. By principled coherence and for the sake of its own credibility, the European Union can no longer remain silent or inactive in the face of such breaches…

…In light of these grave circumstances, we ask that the next meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council includes a discussion of the EU-Israel Association-Agreement. The earlier review of Israel’s compliance with its obligations under Article 2 of the Agreement was clear that Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations, and the situation has only deteriorated since then. Given the level of violence and the gravity of the current situation, there is a need to urgently revisit the question of the EU’s response, including the proposals put forward by the President of the Commission. Bold and immediate action is required, and all actions must remain on the table. The European Union can no longer remain on the sidelines.

However, Kallas is a supporter of Israel who has blamed its genocide on the Palestinians while mouthing token opposition to its ‘excess’. She has rightly been accused of saying “nice words” about Palestinian people while supporting “more weapons for Israel”.

And with the ending of the Israel ‘association’ requiring unanimity among the EU’s 27 governments – many of whom are run by politicians and parties in hock to the genocidal colony or ideologically committed to it – the move to end the association is doomed to fail.

But it’s still the right thing to do and shame on any government that helps defeat it.