Dear President von der Leyen,
Dear High Representative / Vice-President Kallas,
Dear Commissioner Šefčovič,
Dear Commissioners,
We, the undersigned human rights and humanitarian organizations, are writing to urge you to propose a regulation to prohibit EU trade with Israel’s illegal settlements.
Amid growing calls from EU member states’ ministers of foreign affairs, the High Representative has repeatedly requested the Commission to prepare a proposal to restrict trade with Israel’s illegal settlements. As many of us raised in a joint letter in February 2025 we believe that the EU must ban such trade and should do so under article 207 TFEU, as a measure necessary to bring EU trade into compliance with international law, including as most authoritatively interpreted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in its landmark advisory opinion of 19 July 2024.