The European Commission has presented EU Member States with a range of options to further restrict imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
According to Euronews, the proposals are contained in an "options paper" circulated to member states after a majority of EU foreign ministers requested that the Commission clarify what restrictive trade measures could be taken in response to the continued expansion of Israeli settlements.
Three possible measures
The Commission has outlined three possible approaches. The first would require importers of goods produced in Israeli settlements to obtain export licences. The Commission, however, reportedly warned that such a system could be circumvented through practices such as mislabelling products or mixing settlement goods with products made inside Israel.
A second option would see the EU impose significantly higher tariffs on settlement goods in an effort to make imports commercially unviable. Here too, the Commission reportedly acknowledged that companies could potentially find ways around the restrictions.
The third and most far-reaching option would involve a full or partial ban on imports originating from Israeli settlements. Such a measure would require customs authorities across the EU to identify settlement products at the bloc's external borders.
The document does not amount to a formal legislative proposal, however. Diplomatic sources told Euronews that EU ambassadors are expected to discuss the options behind closed doors in Brussels this Friday, ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday. No formal decision is expected next week, with the next Foreign Affairs Council scheduled for October.
Legal and political hurdles remain
If the restrictions are adopted under the EU's common commercial policy, they could potentially be approved by a qualified majority of member states. However, the European Commission reportedly maintains that they should instead fall under the bloc's common foreign and security policy, which would require unanimous backing from all 27 Member States.
