'We are not going to speculate on any other potential measures,' says a Commission spokesperson
Kaja Kallas has again been rebuffed by her colleagues at the European Commission after calling for new measures to prevent trade with illegal Israeli settlements.
In a humiliation for Kallas, who is both the EU foreign affairs chief and a vice-president of the Commission, officials ruled out new restrictive trade measures, which have the support of France, Spain, and other EU countries, including Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
The Commission already has longstanding proposals tabled last year, said a spokesperson, “to suspend trade preferences under the EU-Israel Association agreement”, which has stalled because of a lack of support in the Council, which represents national capitals.
“This is still with the Council to adopt by qualified majority. This is what we have on the table right now, and we are not going to speculate at this stage on any other potential measures,” said the Commission spokesperson, noting that EU leaders would discuss the Middle East at a summit on Thursday.
