Peter Leuenberger, infosperber.ch, 14/6/2021
Peter Leuenberger is a historian and member of the Switzerland-Palestine Society
States are shirking their obligations by allowing goods from occupied territories
A European Citizens' Initiative calls for a ban on trade in goods from illegal settlements, but the EU Commission declared not being competent. The European Court of Justice sees things differently and played the ball back to the Commission. Historian Peter Leuenberger puts things in order and takes a look at the situation in Switzerland. (Editor’s Note)
The citizens' initiative wants to stop the trade in illegally built settlements in occupied territories. This measure would particularly affect trade with settlements in the Israeli occupied Palestinian West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights, but also illegal settlements in the Moroccan occupied Western Sahara as well as other territories that are militarily occupied and economically exploited by the occupying power. But the EU Commission refused to register the initiative in September 2019. The reason given was that it was not competent, because such a step would be tantamount to sanctions. It could only be decided jointly by all member states in the European Council. The executive in Brussels does not have the power to do so.
Seven EU citizens appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union against the Commission's decision. The court now ruled that the Commission had failed to provide adequate reasons or a sufficient legal basis for refusing to register the initiative. The Commission can now appeal the court's ruling or it must revise its decision and register the citizens' initiative.
Ireland's parliament already tried to pass its own law banning trade in the settlements. However, the European Commission confirmed on this occasion that it alone was responsible for the EU's common trade policy.
Settlements violate international humanitarian law
According to the Fourth Geneva Convention (Art. 49), Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and on the Syrian Golan Heights are illegal under international law. Only recently, the EU reiterated its long-standing position that all settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law.
