EU exec. branch to adopt new sanctions against 'Israel' on Wednesday
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The EU commissioners will adopt new sanctions against "Israel", including suspending parts of the bloc's trade agreement, over its war on Gaza.
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European Union flags flap in the wind outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025 (AP)
EU commissioners will agree to impose new sanctions against "Israel" on Wednesday over its war on Gaza, a spokesperson for the commission stated on Tuesday.
"Tomorrow, commissioners will be adopting a package of measures on Israel," Paula Pinho, EU commission spokesperson, told reporters, explaining that "specifically, a proposal to suspend certain trade provisions in the agreements between the EU and Israel."
Later, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday that "Israel’s" ground offensive in Gaza will worsen the situation in the enclave.
Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza will make an already desperate situation even worse.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) September 16, 2025
It will mean more death, more destruction & more displacement
Tomorrow, the @EU_commission will present measures to pressure the Israeli government to change course over the war in Gaza (1/2)
"Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza will make an already desperate situation even worse," Kallas wrote on social media platform X.
"It will mean more death, more destruction & more displacement," she said, noting that the European Commission will present measures on Wednesday to pressure the Israeli government to change course.
"Suspending trade concessions and imposing sanctions on extremist ministers and violent settlers would clearly signal that the EU demands an end to this war," she added.
This closely follows widespread calls for the EU to take a harder stance on "Israel" over its war crimes in Gaza.
Stronger action required from Europe
More than 300 former European diplomats and officials have called on Europe to take stronger action, including a full suspension of the EU’s cooperation agreement with the Israeli entity, in response to the ongoing war on Gaza.
Shortly after the UN General Assembly opened in New York on September 12, the joint letter signed by 314 former EU and member state diplomats was released.
This initiative, which calls for sanctions on extremist ministers and a suspension of the trade section of the EU-"Israel" association agreement, came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued her strongest condemnation yet of the Israeli government.
The letter sent to von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged Europe to suspend the EU-"Israel" agreement entirely and take a leadership role in international forums.
Norway to follow in EU's steps
Norway has indicated that it will follow in the footsteps of the European Union if the bloc proceeds with suspending its trade agreement with "Israel".
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told local media that Oslo would most likely follow the EU's decision, stating that while Norway has never been against sanctions, it believes such measures must be coordinated with other countries, emphasizing its tradition of aligning closely with EU policy.
On August 12, Politico reported that EU civil servants in Brussels are increasingly clashing with the European Commission as tensions rise over their demands to publicly challenge the bloc's position on "Israel", in an internal dispute that has intensified recently as staff push back against restrictions on their freedom to demonstrate.
An official, who requested to be identified only as Ramona due to concerns over professional consequences, told Politico that EU institutions have effectively forced employees into a position of "complicity", breached their "moral and legal obligations," stifled conscientious dissent, and postponed substantive action.
