European Citizens' Initiative With 1,117,104 Verified Signatures Seeks Full Suspension of EU-Israel Agreement
The organisers of a European citizens' initiative demanding the full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement formally submitted it to the European Commission for examination on November 12. The initiative gathered 1,117,104 verified statements of support, surpassing the required minimum of one million, and reached the minimum numbers in 12 Member States after the verification phase was successfully completed.
The initiative, titled 'Demand the full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in view of Israel's violations of human rights,' is the 15th successful initiative under the European Citizens' Initiative mechanism. Its organisers are asking the Commission to submit a proposal to the Council of the EU aimed at fully suspending the agreement.
Under the mechanism, the Commission will meet the organisers in the coming weeks and the European Parliament will hold a public hearing. The Commission has until 12 May 2027 to present its official reply, outlining the actions it intends to take, if any. The mechanism does not legally oblige the Commission to introduce legislation.
The EU-Israel Association Agreement, in force since 2000, is the framework for political, economic and trade relations between the two sides and contains a clause grounding the relationship in respect for human rights and democratic principles. The initiative was registered in November 2025, began collecting signatures in January 2026 and crossed one million in April, the fastest ever under the mechanism; France alone accounted for some 340,000 signatures. It is backed by the European Left Alliance and civil society groups.
(Source: European Commission)
Source: European Commission
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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