{"id":400032,"date":"2026-04-19T10:54:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/400032\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T10:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:54:07","slug":"israel-had-a-bad-week-in-europe-does-it-herald-a-wider-shift-in-eu-relations-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/400032\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel had a bad week in Europe. Does it herald a wider shift in EU relations? | Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a bad week for Israel in Europe: the country lost its staunchest regional ally when Viktor Orb\u00e1n was toppled from power<\/a> in Hungary, and Italy suspended a key defence pact<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The shifts are likely to pave the way for new trade sanctions over state-backed settler violence in the occupied West Bank, and add to broader pressure for the EU to reconsider its relationship with Israel<\/a> over its wars in Gaza and the wider region.<\/p>\n

\u201cHungary\u2019s veto was the only thing preventing the package of sanctions against violent settlers,\u201d said Maya Sion-Tzidkiyahu, the director of the Israel-Europe relations programme at the Mitvim thinktank and a lecturer at the European forum of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect once the [new] Tisza government is in place, that would be one of the first things the EU would like to push, and it should be easy for [P\u00e9ter] Magyar to say yes. Netanyahu is on the wrong side of history from the perspective of many Europeans, and he is a symbol for Orb\u00e1n.\u201d<\/p>\n

EU officials expect to revive sanctions targeting a small number of extremist settlers once a new Hungarian government takes office next month. More immediately, several member states that are strong supporters of the Palestinians, such as Ireland and Spain, are expected to raise the possibility of trade sanctions against Israel at a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Hungarians celebrate the defeat of Viktor Orb\u00e1n, who was one of Israel\u2019s staunchest supporters in the EU. Photograph: Neil Milton\/Sopa Images\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Although sanctions on settlers are seen as a mostly symbolic move against a small group with few ties to Europe, passing them could strengthen confidence to consider broader action, including suspending parts of the deal underpinning EU-Israeli ties.<\/p>\n

The EU is Israel\u2019s top trading partner<\/a>, most popular travel destination and a vital source of research funding through the multi-billion dollar Horizon programme, but it has never managed to turn that economic power into significant political influence inside Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the discussion about leverage and pressure is back on the table,\u201d said Martin Kone\u010dn\u00fd, the director of the European Middle East Project, in Brussels. \u201cIf you take one step, and the situation doesn\u2019t improve, then the pressure to take the next step actually rises very quickly again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week more than 390 former EU ministers, ambassadors and top officials urged the EU to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement in whole or part.<\/p>\n

Signatories included the former EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell<\/a>, the former Swedish foreign minister and UN weapons inspector Hans Blix<\/a>, and the former European Commission vice-president Margot Wallstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n

An Israeli boy celebrates passover on 8 April. Few Israelis are aware of the benefits of Israel\u2019s relationship with the EU. Photograph: Florion Goga\/Reuters<\/p>\n

A public petition making the same demand passed a million signatories from all 27 member states, making it the fastest growing petition of its kind, supporters say.<\/p>\n

Freezing all or part of the EU-Israel association agreement would require support from either Germany or Italy<\/a>, because it must have the backing of a \u201cqualified majority\u201d of at least 15 member states representing 65% of the EU\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

An attempt to halt trade provisions last September<\/a>, in response to the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, never passed that threshold. After Trump brokered a ceasefire deal in October, the plans stalled.<\/p>\n

EU sources suggested forthcoming talks between Israel and Lebanon<\/a> are likely to restrain any immediate EU action, because many European countries are wary of disrupting delicate negotiations.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s abrupt political shift, signalled by the decision to suspend the defence cooperation deal, means a renewed proposal may have a greater chance of passing.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni<\/a>, had been among Israel\u2019s closest friends in Europe, one of several far-right leaders to cultivate a close personal relationship with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

She regularly defied public sentiment in a country that has had some of Europe\u2019s largest protests against Israel\u2019s wars, and a political climate where pro-Palestinian sentiment extends across the political spectrum, from the left to the centre right.<\/p>\n

Speakers at an anti-war protest in Milan on 11 April. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

That was based on a separation between foreign and domestic policy that is no longer sustainable, said Lorenzo Castellani, a political historian at Rome\u2019s Luiss University. \u201cFor the first time since the second world war, foreign policy has become a central concern for Italian public opinion,\u201d he said. \u201cThe reason is simple: this is a conflict with direct geopolitical and economic consequences for Italy and for Europe as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suspension of the defence memorandum appears to be more symbolic than substantive, as it provided a framework for defence deals that will remain in place \u2013 but it served as a \u201cclear warning\u201d to Israel, one European diplomat said.<\/p>\n

Israel has been effective at using its closest bilateral relationships to block or blunt hostile EU policy, in an approach that Sion-Tzidkiyahu describes as \u201cdivide and thwart\u201d.<\/p>\n

It can still count on support from longstanding allies, including the Czech Republic\u2019s Andrej Babi\u0161, and if Netanyahu loses power in elections due this year Magyar may build a closer relationship with his successor.<\/p>\n

But political ties with Israel are increasingly costly for European leaders. The impact of regional wars has been amplified by Netanyahu\u2019s close alliance with the US president, Donald Trump, who regularly attacks Europe, derides its culture and values, undermines its economy and has even threatened to invade.<\/p>\n

Children look at the rubble from an Israeli strike on Beirut. EU citizens are increasingly concerned that the failure to condemn Israel\u2019s actions shows double standards. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Many Europeans calling for stronger action against Israel say core European values are at stake, and failure to act will undermine the international rule of law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe absence of meaningful measures against Israel, contrasted with extensive sanctions imposed on Russia, has raised concerns about double standards and risks undermining the EU\u2019s international credibility,\u201d said Pasquale Ferrara, a former senior Italian diplomat and scholar.<\/p>\n

Concern about maintaining Israel\u2019s European alliances may have contributed to an unusual public spat<\/a> last week, in which Israel\u2019s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, denounced Israel\u2019s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich<\/a>, for attacking the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After Smotrich<\/a> posted a tirade referencing the Nazi regime, Prosor \u201cunequivocally condemned\u201d the comments, accusing the minister of eroding the memory of the Holocaust.<\/p>\n

Sion-Tzidkiyahu commented: \u201cWhen Israel is dependent on so few countries, and Germany is the main one because Meloni has turned her back, you have to protect that relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the war on Gaza, German public opinion, like in Italy, has diverged from the government\u2019s staunch support of the Israeli government. Most voters are now critical of the Netanyahu administration, but Germany\u2019s responsibility for the Holocaust means it would never lead criticism of Israel.<\/p>\n

Merz has criticised violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and largely avoided his predecessor, Angela Merkel\u2019s, formulation that Israel\u2019s security is a \u201cStaatsr\u00e4son\u201d or \u201creason of state\u201d for Germany. However, he said<\/a> in an interview last year that Israel\u2019s security remained at the core of German foreign policy.<\/p>\n

The loss of Orb\u00e1n and Meloni\u2019s distancing got limited attention in Israel, where wars in Iran and Lebanon and the relationship with the US dominate foreign policy discussion.<\/p>\n

Few Israelis appreciate the extent to which ties with Europe underpin their standard of living. Two-thirds of Israelis see the EU as an adversary, and only 14% as a friend, an August 2025 survey carried out by the Mitvim thinktank found.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll Israelis know that we are dependent on the US for security issues, but they don\u2019t understand that we are dependent on the European Union<\/a> for economic issues,\u201d Sion-Tzidkiyahu said. \u201cWe have managed to diversify trade, but the EU is still the largest block we are exporting to and importing from.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a bad week for Israel in Europe: the country lost its staunchest regional ally when Viktor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-400032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}