Israel, Annunziata (S&D): Commission blocks suspension of trade agreement with the EU

Brussels – “The Monitoring Group on trade relations between Israel and the European Union has met yet again during this parliamentary term, and yet again has failed to reach any conclusions.” This was reported by MEP Lucia Annunziata of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), standing rapporteur on Israel, at the end of today’s meeting (20 April) in Brussels. The Monitoring Group is a specific meeting on the subject, within the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), which brings together rapporteurs from all political groups and Commission officials invited to provide updates on the situation. “Despite the many developments taking place both within the political-military framework in the region and within the European institutions, once again the proposal to suspend the trade agreement, which has been supported by Parliament for many months, has met with the usual firm opposition from the European Commission,” she explained. “At this point, given the success of the petition, which has gathered 1,200,000 signatures across the European Union, we call on the European Commission to publicly explain this inaction,” concluded Annunziata.