EU leaders have nudged the European Commission to draft legal texts to restrict imports from Israeli settlers, following three months of inertia, which EU diplomats said had caused “frustration” in several capitals.
“The European Council takes note of the Commission’s intention to present options before the Council meeting of 13 July 2026, in light of the deteriorating situation regarding the illegal settlements,” EU leaders said in summit conclusions in Brussels on Friday (19 June).
The July date referred to the next informal talks due by EU foreign ministers.
Several member states, led by France, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, and Ireland, have been calling for a settler-import ban for at least three months.
EU leaders discussed “sanctions against extremist and violent settlement activity in the West Bank; EU-level sanctions against extremist ministers; and a deepening of the distinction between the territory of Israel and the illegal settlements in order to align our trade policy with international law,” French president Emmanuel Macron told reporters after the summit.
