Spain’s PM urges EU to end Association Agreement with Israel
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, April 2026
Haaretz staff and Liza Rozovsky report on 19 April 2026:
Spain will ask the European Union to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Sunday [19 April]. The agreement governs political and economic ties between Israel and the EU.
“A government that violates international law or European Union principles and values cannot be our partner,” Sánchez said ahead of a meeting of the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar rejected the call, accusing Madrid of double standards. Israel “will not accept hypocritical lectures from someone who has a relationship with totalitarian regimes that violate human rights,” Sa’ar wrote on X, referring to Spain’s ties with Turkey and Venezuela. “A government that receives thanks from Iran’s brutal regime and terrorist organizations, and that has dedicated itself to spreading antisemitism,” he went on.
Sánchez’s call comes days after Spain, Ireland and Slovenia wrote to the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, calling for a review of Israel’s compliance with the agreement after the Knesset passed the death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of lethal acts of terrorism last month.
“Not only a grave violation of fundamental human rights, but also a step backwards in Israel’s commitment to democratic principles … and therefore a violation of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement,” the letter read, which stipulates parties will respect human rights and democratic principles.
It also cited Israel’s mass displacement of Lebanese amid its war on Hezbollah and escalating settler violence in the West Bank.
Relations between Israel and Spain in particular have deteriorated over the past year, with Madrid among the most outspoken European critics of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and its broader regional policies. Spain has repeatedly pressed the EU to review whether Israel remains in compliance with the agreement’s human rights provisions.
The diplomatic standoff worsened between the two countries over Spain’s opposition to the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, and last month Spain permanently withdrew its ambassador to Israel.
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