EU options paper on Israel settler imports is ‘misleading’ and designed to ‘justify inaction’, legal scholars say

The European Commission is facing fresh legal scrutiny after a group of leading scholars questioned its options paper on restricting imports from illegal Israeli settlements, before EU foreign ministers revisit the issue in September. In a letter to the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, dated 31 July, the scholars argue that the options paper contains “manifestly incorrect and misleading claims” that risk undermining the EU’s obligations under international law. “We cannot avoid the impression that the analysis was shaped to justify inaction, rather than providing an objective assessment,” said the signatories. Legal scholars criticised the commission’s assumption that the EU’s existing differentiation regime between Israeli exports and settler goods “is in line with the 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion” as being “factually untenable.” The ICJ found that all states are under the obligation “to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” “Allowing trade with settlements on most-favoured Nation terms cannot reasonably be characterised as taking steps to prevent such trade as required by the ICJ,” the scholars said in the letter, mentioning particularly Israel’s reimbursement scheme for settlement exports. The scholars also questioned the commission’s reasoning that a trade restriction would primarily pursue foreign policy objectives by seeking “to promote a change of conduct of the Israeli government.” This “mischaracterises” the aim of the proposed measure, they said, arguing that trade restrictions seek “to ensure … consistency of the EU’s own Common Commercial Policy with international law” and to prevent EU trade from contributing to the economic viability of illegal settlements. Consequently, they argue that Article 207 of the EU treaty provides the appropriate legal basis for the move, which would open the door for a potential agreement that does not require EU27 unanimity, which has proven impossible to achieve in the past. “This is not a sanction against Israel because it applies exclusively to trade with settlers in the occupied territories,” Ignacio García Bercero, former director of the commission trade department until 2024 and current researcher at the think–tank Bruegel, told EUobserver earlier this month. EU's credibility at stake The legal experts also said the commission's argument that the “comparatively small volume of trade” demonstrates that a settlement trade ban would be primarily political rather than economic is “self-contradictory.” Total trade between the EU and Israel accounted for €43.3bn in 2025, making the EU into Israel's largest overall trading partner. Direct EU imports from Israeli settlements are estimated to be worth around €230m a year. And given the limited direct trade with settlers, any measure reinforces the main objective of ensuring that “the EU does not itself contribute to sustaining the settlements economically,” the scholars say. The letter was signed by Alberto Alemanno (EUobserver columnist and professor at HEC Paris), Matthias Goldmann (EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht), Piet Eeckhout (University College London), Eva Kassoti (T.M.C. Asser Institute), and Ramses A. Wessel (University of Groningen). “The commission’s role is to uphold EU law, not to devise legal arguments for avoiding it,” Alemanno told EUobserver. “When legal analysis is shaped to defend inaction rather than apply the law, the credibility of the EU’s commitment to the rule of law is at stake.” All-time high violence in the West Bank The letter comes after EU foreign affairs ministers discussed options in mid-July, with a “full ban” on trade with illegal settlements being the most popular option among EU member states. The topic will be discussed again in early September during an informal meeting, but no decision will be taken. The next regular foreign ministers’ meeting is not due until 12 October, just ahead of elections in Israel on 27 October. France and Sweden have spearheaded the push for a full ban on settler imports, backed by Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain. But Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic have questioned whether settlement trade could be halted by qualified majority voting (QMV) rather than unanimity, creating the possibility of a veto. This week, the UN human rights office warned of an ‘all-time high’ in settler violence in the West Bank, with an average of six settler attacks per day. On 18 July, Israel’s defence and finance ministers announced plans for three illegal settlements in Gaza and allocated more than €350m to expand construction in the occupied West Bank. “We are alarmed by the Israeli Government’s announcement to further increase the number of settlements and outposts and open calls by Israeli leaders for revenge and collective punishment against Palestinian communities, accompanied by threats to turn the West Bank into another Gaza,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said.