EU-wide Occupied Territories Bill could include services as well as goods, McEntee says

Minister says Ireland is pushing for coordinated EU action, with proposals expected before the next Foreign Affairs Council meeting

Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee delivers a speech at Dublin Castle in Dublin, during the opening ceremony of Ireland's EU presidency. Picture: Niall Carson

An EU-wide version of the Occupied Territories Bill could include services as well as goods, foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee has said.

Speaking at University College Cork (UCC) on Friday, Ms McEntee said that, while there is no consensus across Europe on Israel's war in Gaza, a ban on trade in illegally occupied territories is one option that could be considered by European leaders.

Ms McEntee said recent rulings from the International Court of Justice supported a wider ban than that proposed by the Irish Government, which currently applies only to goods.

“That’s why I am advocating at an EU level we would move together collectively, and that goods and services would be part of any proposal by the Commission," she said.

"What we as a government have advocated for, including the Taoiseach, is that there would be further proposals on the table that could be voted by QMV (qualified majority voting), and that includes a ban in goods and services in the occupied territories.

"I was reassured again last night that there would be proposals before the next Foreign Affairs Council. We have a number of commissioners here with responsibility for this area that will be involved in any action that we take moving forward. That's why it's really important we're all here together and we're all having this conversation together. Most importantly we have to continue to highlight the fact that the situation in Gaza is getting worse, the situation in the West Bank is getting worse, and the situation in Lebanon is not improving.

"That's why we're doing this. That's why we've called for these actions, and I believe that many of the commission are with us on those."

'Not simply symbolic'

Ms McEntee also rejected the suggestion that such a move would be "simply symbolic".

"We've obviously been advocating for the strongest possible response that would be the suspension of the association agreement. You could suspend the trade element of the association agreement, but I don't agree that banning goods or services, trade overall in the occupied territories is simply symbolic. 27 member states deciding possibly that they would ban trade in the occupied territories is quite a significant move, and not something that has ever happened before, and the intention behind it is quite simple. It is to change the actions of the current Israeli government, who are intent on moving ahead in what is a very clear attempt to destruct any future prospect of a two-state solution.

"I will be saying this at the next meeting, we have a UN report, an independently verified report that is now saying that the Israeli Defense Forces, that the Israeli government are targeting children, not prior to the ceasefire, but post the ceasefire. We all have to stand up and listen to this. We have to take action."