Pressure is mounting across the European Union for tougher measures against goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. France and Sweden have formally asked the European Commission to introduce EU-wide restrictions, while Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, and Ireland have explored national-level bans. The debate comes as settlement expansion accelerates: Israeli Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich boasted in 2025 that 69 new settlements had been approved in recent years, calling it a record. Peace Now, an Israeli monitoring group, reports that 103 new settlements have been approved since the current government took office in late 2022.
The issue is expected to dominate discussions among EU foreign ministers in July, but a key legal question remains: can individual member states unilaterally restrict or ban imports from settlements under EU law?
Current EU Rules on Settlement Goods
The EU maintains a clear distinction between Israel proper and the territories it has occupied since 1967. Under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, goods from settlements are not eligible for preferential tariff treatment. They can still be imported into the EU, but without the duty-free advantage granted to products from within Israel's internationally recognised borders. The European Commission has also issued guidance requiring clear labelling of settlement origin. Since 2004, Israeli exporters must provide postal codes identifying the place of production, enabling customs authorities to differentiate. In 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that food products from settlements must state their origin on labels to avoid misleading consumers. However, there is currently no EU-wide ban on settlement imports.
Despite these rules, enforcement remains patchy. A new investigation by the Global Echo Litigation Center, an NGO founded by Israeli and Palestinian lawyers, analysed over 30,000 administrative trade records covering exports from Israel to EU member states between 2017 and 2026. The group estimates that roughly one-fifth of Israeli shipments to the EU originated from settlements. Emily Schaeffer Omer-Man, the NGO's founder and executive director, told Euronews that investigators identified three main methods used to obtain preferential tariff treatment for settlement products. The first, she said, is “hiding in plain sight,” where paperwork lists Israeli origin and eligibility for preferential treatment while the actual place of production is redacted or replaced with an Israeli address. The second involves mislabelling products as Israeli-made despite settlement origin. The third consists of mixing settlement goods with products made inside Israel and packaging them together under a single “Product of Israel” label.
A separate investigation by +972 Magazine, an independent online media outlet founded by Palestinian and Israeli journalists, reached similar conclusions. In January 2026, it reported that some Israeli settlement wineries exported bottles labelled simply as “Made in Israel,” without reference to their West Bank origin.
Trade experts say such cases highlight the challenges authorities face. Agnès Bertrand-Sanz, humanitarian expert and spokesperson for Oxfam Belgium, noted the difficulties for European customs officials: “The main responsibility to check the origin of a product lies with the customs authorities, and it really depends on their capacity. There are so many products arriving in our ports, in the port of Antwerp, in the port of Rotterdam. Of course, it's done on a case-by-case basis, and they don't have time to check everything.” Martin Konečný, director of the Brussels-based think tank the European Middle East Project, added that enforcement is further complicated because Israel considers settlements part of its own territory.
Against this backdrop, several European governments argue that the current framework is insufficient. In a letter co-signed by France and Sweden and sent to the European Commission in April 2026, the two countries called for additional measures targeting settlement goods. The letter, seen by Euronews, proposes EU-wide restrictions. Meanwhile, national initiatives are advancing. Belgium and Ireland have examined domestic bans, and Spain and Slovenia have also explored similar steps. A recent rally in Brussels pressed the EU to curb trade with settlements, reflecting growing public and political pressure.
Legal experts, however, caution that unilateral national bans could conflict with EU trade policy, which is an exclusive competence of the Union. The European Commission has yet to issue a formal opinion on whether member states can act alone. The upcoming foreign ministers' meeting in July may provide clarity, but for now, the legal path remains uncertain. As the EU weighs its options, the core question persists: can individual countries enforce restrictions that the bloc as a whole has not adopted?
