EU pauses support to Israel; Vatican spokesman, newspaper call action ‘weak,’ ‘timid’

September 19, 2025

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, announced that it was “putting on hold its bilateral support to Israel.” The Commission also proposed the suspension of its free-trade arrangements with Israel.

“The horrific events taking place in Gaza on a daily basis must stop,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “There needs to be an immediate ceasefire, unrestrained access for all humanitarian aid, and the release of all hostages held by Hamas.”

“Reflecting these principled commitments, and taking into account serious recent developments in the West Bank, we propose to suspend trade concessions with Israel, sanction extremist ministers and violent settlers, and put bilateral support to Israel on hold, without affecting our work with Israeli civil society or Yad Vashem,” added von der Leyen.

L’Osservatore Romano characterized the European Commission’s action as “timid.”

This “initial, albeit timid, response, which does not appear to be welcomed by all member states, comes as in recent hours Israeli troops have intensified their bombardment of the Strip, hitting areas near some of the few remaining functioning hospitals, while the ground offensive on Gaza continues unabated,” the newspaper stated in an unsigned front-page article.

Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication, penned an editorial, “Weak sanctions that do not stop the massacre.”

“Some of the measures risk making life more difficult for ordinary people, while others that could directly impact the conflict are missing—namely, restrictions on the arms trade,” wrote Tornielli. “These are the very weapons now being used in raids against neighboring countries. In fact, the European package contains no measures concerning the supply of weapons and military equipment.”

 

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Further information:

• Commission proposes suspension of trade concessions with Israel and sanctions on extremist ministers of the Israeli government and violent settlers (European Commission)
• EU Commission proposes suspending free-trade arrangements on Israeli goods (Reuters)
• L’Ue sospende il sostegno bilaterale a Israele (L'Osservatore Romano, 9/18/25)
• Weak sanctions that do not stop the massacre (Vatican News)