Finland said on Wednesday that it would not be able to impose national trade restrictions on illegal Israeli settlements but would support continued EU efforts, despite being part of a joint declaration by 12 countries to support such trade curbs, Anadolu reports.
In response to a question from Anadolu, the Foreign Ministry said Finland joined the statement because it aligns with the country’s long-term foreign policy objectives, including support for the rules-based international order and international law, as well as support for the two-state solution and the Palestinian Authority.
But, it added: “Finland is unlikely to impose national sanctions or restrictions due to the fact that we lack national legal basis for it.”
“Therefore, we support continued work in the EU on the issue of settlement products based on the options paper presented by the European Commission prior to the July Foreign Affairs Council on differentiation of market access of settlement products to the internal market of the EU. Finland would like to make progress on this issue,” the ministry said.
France, the UK, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, and Sweden pledged on Tuesday to impose national restrictions on trade in goods from illegal Israeli settlements or support European restrictions.
