EU Foreign Ministers Discuss Sanctions Against Israel and 21st Russia Package in Brussels

Bulgaria does not want to support some of these EU sanctions. Germany and the Czech Republic were against it until recently. This raises the question of whether such a step would have to be decided unanimously by all 27 member states or whether a qualified majority is sufficient.

Disagreement over unanimity or qualified majority

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said in Brussels that there were different legal views. According to the Legal Service of the Council of Member States, a qualified majority is sufficient for the trade measures. "Es gebe noch offene Fragen," said Kallas. The supporters of the trade measures would now have to rely on the position held by Germany, the EU Commission and other member states – namely unanimity – being successfully challenged.

If the trade restrictions are classified as foreign policy sanctions, they could only be decided unanimously. The 15 EU states supporting the measures would also have to together represent at least 65 percent of the EU's total population. A unanimous decision would make the adoption of such sanctions impossible against the will of Germany and other critical states.

Germany's position: talks instead of sanctions

Johann Wadephul made clear in Brussels that, in his view, possible restrictions or bans on the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank could only be decided unanimously. He also said he had formulated the expectation of the Israeli government to "entschieden und klar gegen gewalttätige Siedler vorzugehen." Germany expects the Israeli government to "entschieden und klar gegen gewalttätige Siedler vorgeht."

Wadephul said: "Wir haben eine klare Auffassung zu der Siedlungspolitik. Sie steht nicht im Einklang mit internationalem Recht." He thus criticized the settlement policy in a manner similar to sanctions supporters from countries such as Spain, France, Sweden, Belgium and Ireland. At the same time, he stressed that he wanted to focus on effective talks with the Israeli government. He said he had made this expectation clear during a visit to Israel the previous week.

Adis Ahmetovic spoke out in favor of possible sanctions against Israel ahead of the meeting. "Deutschland muss den Weg frei machen für eine geeinte europäische Haltung," he told the RND newspapers. "Keiner erwartet vom Außenminister Wadephul, erste Geige in Fragen von Nahost in Brüssel zu spielen, aber bei so offensichtlichen völkerrechtlichen Verstößen durch Benjamin Netanjahu und seine Regierung kann die deutsche Position nicht das Veto sein." The standard of German foreign policy should rather be "Recht und Regeln."

Diplomats had said on Friday that no concrete decision was expected at the meeting; the goal was to assess whether there was enough support to move the issue forward. Diplomats also said the key players Germany and Italy remained undecided on the issue. Given Germany's clear positioning, rapid progress on the sanctions was highly unlikely.

Another topic: 21st sanctions package against Russia

The meeting of the foreign ministers also dealt with the planned 21st sanctions package against Russia. This 21st sanctions package targets the energy, trade, financial services and cryptocurrencies sectors. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said immediately before the meeting that the EU states had not yet agreed on the planned 21st sanctions package against Russia. The plan also includes imposing sanctions on further persons, entities and organizations from Russia.

Kallas hoped that the member states could agree at the upcoming deliberations to put 250 additional Russian persons and entities on the sanctions list. This would be the largest number of individuals and organizations the EU has ever put on the list in a single move. Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS) is expected at the talks.

Other topics at the foreign ministers' meeting include the latest developments in the Iran war as well as Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. A security forum is being held with the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviychuk have been invited to Brussels for an informal exchange of ideas.