The Cradle

SEP 11, 2026

Kaja Kallas says the measure needs only a qualified majority, bypassing the unanimity rule that has shielded Israel from EU action

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas has thrown her weight behind a bloc-wide ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, calling such a step a “principled stance” in an interview with the Irish Times published on 10 September.

Kallas drew a direct parallel with the EU’s response to Russia’s seizure of Crimea, telling the paper that the bloc had no difficulty naming that occupation for what it was.

“When Crimea was occupied, then it was very clear – it’s illegal, we don’t recognize this,” she said. “We should have the same principled stance – you know this is illegal, everybody agrees, so we should stop trading with Occupied [Palestinian] Territories.”

A settlement import ban, she said, would not be held hostage to the unanimity rule that has repeatedly sunk EU efforts to penalize Israel’s continuous crimes against the Palestinian people.

The ban can be advanced as a trade measure rather than a foreign policy decision and would therefore clear the bar with a qualified majority, meaning at least 15 of the 27 governments, representing roughly two-thirds of the bloc’s population.

Kallas said EU foreign ministers broadly accept that the settlements, which continue to expand across the occupied West Bank, are illegal under international law.

Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia have each previously blocked EU measures on Israel that required the consent of all 27 capitals.

Most of that group would likely vote against a settlement trade ban as well, though Kallas said some governments that refused to touch the wider EU–Israel free-trade agreement are willing to sever trade with the illegal settlements.

The European Commission is under “very clear” pressure from national governments to put the proposal forward, Kallas said, and foreign ministers are awaiting the move.

She pointed to “pros and cons” in acting before the Knesset elections at the end of October, saying one argument for delay is avoiding any boost to “radical” figures in Israeli politics.

The remarks follow a series of sanctions announced by the UK on 8 September targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including a ban on imports of settlement goods and measures against companies and individuals driving settlement growth. France and Canada are set to impose comparable bans.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband condemned the occupation as unlawful and said London accepts that Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are being subjected to ethnic cleansing at the hands of settlers, backed by the Israeli military, with the Israeli government looking the other way or actively backing forced displacement.

Twelve states, among them Denmark, Spain, and Finland, issued a joint statement demanding a halt to settlement expansion and rejecting any move toward annexation of Palestinian land or the expulsion of its population.

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Via https://thecradle.co/articles/eu-foreign-policy-chief-backs-trade-ban-on-illegal-israeli-settlements