Ireland seeks EU vote on package of economic sanctions on Israel

Tánaiste Simon Harris said while the vote of the European Council would be deemed 'early' by that body’s standards, it would come some 23 months into Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Ireland will ask EU countries “which side of history they want to be on”, as the Government urges a vote on an EU package of economic sanctions on Israel.

Ireland has been seeking an early vote on a sanctions package proposed by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. It has spent some of UN High Level Week in New York urging EU partners to approve the sanctions. 

The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, so the tariffs could have far-reaching effects on Israel’s economy, which is already rattled by the cost of a long war.

Roughly €32m in bilateral funds controlled by the European Commission would be immediately suspended, and Israel’s preferential status with the EU would be damaged.

Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Tánaiste Simon Harris said while the vote of the European Council would be deemed “early” by that body’s standards, it would come some 23 months into Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

Mr Harris said that while there was consideration around whether a vote has the support to pass the council’s qualified majority voting, it was time to ask EU states to make a decision.

“We need to not allow a situation where people don’t have to vote,” he said. 

We need to actually put this on the table and let every country decide which side of history they want to be on.

“Do you want to vote for measures that can make a real and meaningful difference? Do you believe that there should be consequences for a country that breaches its agreement to the European Union? Do you believe that international law should always be applied consistently, or only in certain circumstances? I don’t think there should be any space for kind of hiding in the shadows on this.

“As a democrat, I want to be able to democratically vote on behalf of Ireland in relation to the adoption of these measures.”

Mr Harris’ fellow foreign affairs ministers from Belgium, Slovenia, Spain, and Luxembourg have co-signed a letter to the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, calling for the suspension and sanctions to be “urgently taken forward for decision” by the European Council.

Meanwhile, energy minister Darragh O’Brien will meet with energy companies later this week in a bid to protect vulnerable customers during the winter.

Mr O’Brien said the situation for customers would not be “hopeless”, despite an increase in energy tariffs across the board in recent months: “I will have specific asks of them in relation to vulnerable customers in particular.

“I will be reiterating that there will not be an energy credit in this budget, and there’s a responsibility amongst those firms as well to ensure that the energy they’re providing is costed fairly and is affordable.

Energy prices are a real concern for people, particularly families.

Mr O’Brien said his department had carried out an analysis of pricing, which will be brought to the meeting with providers.

“These are companies that are independent of me, but the CRU [Commission for Regulation of Utilities] obviously has a role to play within that. I want to let those discussions happen. I don’t want to pre-empt what will happen there.

“I’m expecting the companies to come to me with their suggestions. I’m concerned at the arrears levels on gas and on electricity, they’re significantly high. And we’re not an outlier in Europe on this, either.

“One of the things we’ve discussed [here in New York] is energy pricing full stop across the world."

Asked about US president Donald Trump’s comments in his speech to the UN on Tuesday, which called climate change a “con job”, Mr O’Brien said the Government “respectfully” does not agree with him: “I think there’s a determination amongst most states, including Ireland as well, to continue our green transition, because it’s good economically, it’s good for our climate. The expansion of renewables is real.”