BRUSSELS: Nine European Union countries have called on the European Commission to come up with proposals on how to discontinue EU trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The letter, addressed to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, was signed by foreign ministers from Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The EU is Israel’s biggest trading partner, accounting about a third of its total goods trade. Two-way goods trade between the bloc and Israel stood at 42.6 billion euros ($48.91 billion) last year, though it was unclear how much of that trade involved settlements.
The ministers pointed to a July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, which said Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal. It said states should take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that help maintain the situation.
“We have not seen a proposal to initiate discussions on how to effectively discontinue trade of goods and services with the illegal settlements,” the ministers wrote.
“We need the European Commission to develop proposals for concrete measures to ensure compliance by the Union with the obligations identified by the Court,” they added.
Israel’s diplomatic mission to the EU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Europe must ensure trade policy is in line with international law.
“Trade cannot be disconnected from our legal and moral responsibilities,” the minister said in a statement to Reuters.
“This is about ensuring that EU policies do not contribute, directly or indirectly, to the perpetuation of an illegal situation,” he said.
The ministers’ letter comes ahead of a meeting in Brussels on June 23 where EU foreign ministers are set to discuss the bloc’s relationship with Israel.
Ministers are expected to receive an assessment on whether Israel is complying with a human rights clause in a pact governing its political and economic ties with Europe, after the bloc decided to review Israel’s adherence to the agreement due to the situation in Gaza.
EU countries seek ban on trade with illegal zones of Israel
https://arab.news/9rtx8
EU countries seek ban on trade with illegal zones of Israel
- Bloc set to discuss relations with Israel next week
- ICJ says countries’ trade should not support settlements
Nigerian president vows security reset in budget speech
- Government plans to buy 'cutting-edge' equipment to boost the fighting capability of military
ABUJA: Nigeria’s president vowed a national security overhaul as he presented the government budget, allocating the largest share of spending to defense after criticism over the handling of the country’s myriad conflicts.
Nigeria faces a long-running insurgency in the northeast, while armed “bandit” gangs commit mass kidnappings and loot villages in the northwest, and farmers and herders clash in the center over dwindling land and resources.
President Bola Tinubu last month declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered mass recruitment of police and military personnel to combat mass abductions, which have included the kidnapping of hundreds of children at their boarding school.
He told the Senate that his government plans to increase security spending to boost the “fighting capability” of the military and other security agencies by hiring more personnel and buying “cutting-edge” equipment.
Tinubu promised to “usher in a new era of criminal justice” that would treat all violence by armed groups or individuals as terrorism, as he allocated 5.41 trillion naira ($3.7 billion) for defense and security.
Security officials and analysts say there is an increasing alliance between bandits and extremists from Nigeria’s northeast, who have in recent years established a strong presence in the northwestern and central regions.
“Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists,” said Tinubu, singling out, among others, bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cult groups, and foreign-linked mercenaries.
He said those involved in political or sectarian violence would also be classified as terrorists.
On the economic front, Tinubu hailed his “necessary” but not “painless” reforms that have plunged Nigeria into its worst economic crisis in a generation.
He said inflation has “moderated” for eight successive months, declining to 14.45 percent in the last month from 24.23 percent in March this year.
He projected that the budget deficit will drop next year to 4.28 percent of GDP from around 6.1 percent of GDP in 2023, the year he came into office.
