Lithuania urges EU-level talks on Israel settlement trade curbs

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has said discussions on possible trade sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank should take place at European Union level, LRT reports.

The ministry said Lithuania favoured effective enforcement of measures already in force. Goods originating in Israeli settlements do not receive the trade preferences provided under the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Since 2015, such goods placed on the EU market have also been required to carry clear origin labels, such as “product from the Golan Heights (Israeli settlements)”.

“Lithuania consistently maintains that sanctions introduced at EU level are the most effective, ensuring unified action by the bloc and the integrity of the EU single market,” the ministry said in a written response to ELTA. “Therefore, discussions on possible sanctions and further steps should first take place at EU level.”

The ministry also said the EU had already adopted sanctions against extremist settlers and related organisations involved in violence in the West Bank. The measures were imposed under Council Regulation (EU) 2020/1998 on restrictive measures against serious human rights violations.

According to the ministry, the effectiveness of any additional measures would depend primarily on implementing the existing regime, including the required labelling of goods. Lithuania’s imports from settlements amounted to about 4,700 euros last year, it said.

Twelve countries, including the United Kingdom, several EU member states and Canada, have said they will impose national restrictions on trade in products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which they described as illegal under international law, or support corresponding European restrictions.

The joint statement was issued by France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Sweden. The initiative targets increasing settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and the expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel responded angrily to the United Kingdom’s announcement and immediately announced countermeasures against London. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada later said in a joint statement that the settlements posed a “direct threat” to a two-state solution, involving a Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel.

Ireland and Spain have already taken steps to restrict trade with Israeli settlements. France has also been seeking an EU decision on similar measures for several weeks, but some member states oppose the move.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. About 3 million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers live there. The settlements are considered illegal under international law.