Spain, Slovenia and Ireland have asked the European Union to discuss suspending its association agreement with Israel, Spanish Foreign Minister Joseph Manuel Albares said today ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

“Spain, together with Slovenia and Ireland, have requested that the suspension of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel be discussed today,”
Albares said.

It will be recalled that the move was announced a few days ago by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. “This Tuesday, the Spanish government will submit to Europe a proposal that will see the European Union cancel the association agreement with Israel” because a government “that violates international law cannot be a partner of the European Union,” Sanchez had said during a campaign rally in Andalusia (south) last Sunday. “It’s as simple as that,” he added.

The Association Agreement between the European Union and Israel, which came into force in 2000, includes a clause linking the agreement to respect for human rights.

Spain first challenged this agreement in February 2024, when Pedro Sanchez and the prime minister of Ireland at the time sent a joint letter to the European Commission.

This letter called for an assessment of Israel’s respect for its human rights obligations since the start of the war in Gaza.

Since then, Sanchez had gradually hardened his position on this issue, particularly in relation to the war in Lebanon, until today’s announcement.

The announcement follows a letter sent to the Commission on Friday by Ireland, Slovenia and Spain asking for “the EU-Israel Association Agreement to be considered at the next Foreign Affairs Council meeting.”