A new CIDSE–EuMEP proposal shows the EU has the legal obligation and the tools to end trade with illegal Israeli settlements.
CIDSE and EuMEP have developed a detailed proposal to end the European Union’s trade with the illegal Israeli settlements.
This paper shows how such an EU-wide measure can be concretely designed and implemented – and explains why doing so is necessary.
It builds the findings of the 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion, which requires states to prevent trade that sustains the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). It also responds to the growing calls by EU Member States for the European Union to take concrete action on trading with the settlements.
The proposal is based on extensive legal and technical research conducted jointly by EuMEP and CIDSE. It draws on consultations with European trade and constitutional lawyers, EU specialised law firms, customs experts, and former and current European Commission officials.
At its core, the paper proposes an EU Regulation under the Common Commercial Policy (Article 207 TFEU) that would prohibit trade with Israeli settlements as a matter of compliance with international law. The research shows that such a measure is not only possible, but also legally necessary and operationally feasible.
The proposal addresses the key features of an effective EU trade ban, including legal basis for EU action under Article 207 TFEU, objectives and scope, rules of origin for goods originating in settlements, implementation and enforcement mechanisms across Member States. It also explains why the EU’s current policy, which continues to allow trade with settlements, is untenable both in its design and in practice.
The goal of this paper is to provide a practical, enforceable and legally grounded blueprint for bringing EU trade relations in line with international law and the ICJ’s findings.
The EU has no more excuses to delay action, it needs to end its trade with the illegal Israeli settlements now.
Additional Resources:
- “Importing Occupation: Europe’s Complicity in Palestinian Dispossession through Settlement Agricultural Trade”, Global Echo launched a report on 10 June 2026, consisting of a four-year investigation which reveals for the first time the mechanisms through which millions of euros’ worth of agricultural products from Israeli settlements enter European markets unlawfully.
- “Open letter on the need to prohibit EU Trade with Settlements under Article 207 TFEU”, signed by CIDSE and other 55 civil society organisations are calling the European Commission to propose a regulation to prohibit EU trade with Israel’s illegal settlements.
Contacts:
– Dorien Vanden Boer, CIDSE Israel & occupied Palestinian Territory Policy Officer, vandenboer(at)cidse.org
– Martin Konečný, EuMEP, martin.konecny(at)eumep.org
Cover photo: European Commission. Credits: ©European Union, 2026, licensed under CC BY 4.0