Dozens of ex-ambassadors urge EU to suspend Israel trade agreement over Gaza

A group of 27 former European Union ambassadors have issued an urgent open letter to key EU institutions calling for meaningful action in response to the humanitarian catastrophe gripping Gaza.

The former MENA EU envoys called on top EU officials, including President of the EU Council Antonio Costa, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU parliament Roberta Metsola, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and EU Commissioner Dubravka Šuica to suspend the Israel trade agreement immediately.

Signatories included Geoffrey Barrett (UK), Alexander Baum (Germany), Androulla Kaminara (Cyprus), James Moran (UK/Europe), and dozens from nations across the EU.

They condemned Israel's "indiscriminate and completely disproportionate" military campaign against Palestinians, which has led to over 57,762 people and wounded at least 137,656 others.

"The Israeli military campaign over the last 21 months has led to the deaths or serious injury of many tens of thousands of Palestinians, the vast majority of them innocent civilians, including an alarming number of children, as well as to an appalling degree of destruction of Gaza’s housing, medical facilities, schools, food distribution centres and infrastructure," the letter said.

EU reluctant to take action

They also decried Israeli restrictions on Gaza humanitarian aid, interference with UNRWA, which has been banned from operating in the territory, and a US-backed aid system that "sidelines experienced UN agencies".

Turning to the West Bank, the officials slammed the EU's failure to confront Israel's illegal occupation and its support for violent settlers and illegal land occupation.

"There has been a reluctance by the EU to take serious action against Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank and its government’s de facto encouragement of violent settler groups in their attacks on the Palestinian population there, as well as the further annexing of land in flagrant violation of international law," the letter said.

Over 700,000 Israeli settlers currently live in the West Bank, although their presence is unequivocally illegal under international law, particularly per Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded, in a case initiated in December 2022, that Israel’s occupation of both the West Bank and Gaza is illegal - a finding later endorsed by a UN General Assembly vote.

The letter cites widespread political cost to the EU’s standing, domestically and internationally, pointing to charges of double standards compared to its firm stance on Ukraine. The former ambassadors argued that failure to act would embolden "bad actors at home and abroad".

In May, the EU’s foreign affairs committee launched a formal review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, scrutinising Israel’s compliance with Article 2. Should a breach be confirmed, EU law allows the bloc to suspend all or part of the agreement.

EU Vice-President Kaja Kallas acknowledged in a press conference on 23 June that the review had indeed found breaches. But the ambassadors said that the EU has taken no concrete measures since then. According to EU sources, the Association Agreement allocates €42bn to annual trade, grants Israel access to Horizon research funding, and offers visa-liberalisation.

In May, Kallas confirmed that a majority of EU foreign ministers backed the Article 2 review after nine countries, including the Netherlands, Ireland, and France, submitted a formal request. A leaked EEAS document found Israel in violation of human rights obligations.

However, despite civil society campaigns and legal experts calling for partial or full suspension, countries such as Germany, Hungary, and Austria have not taken any steps.

"We naturally want to see the EU fulfil its role as a major player on the world stage, protecting its citizens, its interests and its values wherever it must, and advancing the causes which comprise its political DNA where it can," the letter added.