EU Foreign Ministers Set to Approve Long-Blocked Sanctions on Violent Israeli Settlers After Hungary's Government Change Removes Veto

EU foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on Monday for a Foreign Affairs Council meeting expected to produce a political agreement on sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank — a measure that had been repeatedly blocked by then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The breakthrough follows the swearing-in of Péter Magyar as Hungary's new prime minister last Saturday. Magyar signalled he would not obstruct broadly supported EU sanction packages, removing the veto that had stalled the measure for months. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed she expected political agreement on the settler sanctions at the meeting, describing the measure as one that has "been on the table for quite some time." Separately, a French-Swedish proposal targeting trade with West Bank settlements — a broader and more economically significant measure — remained short of the qualified majority required for adoption. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen pressed for a "full ban on products from illegal settlements," with ministers testing where majorities could be built for further steps including tariffs. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel noted that the pace of EU action remained constrained by member state division. For sanctions and trade lawyers, the developments signal both an incremental expansion of EU restrictive measures and the political dynamics — specifically, the role of unanimity requirements — that continue to limit how far the bloc can move on Israel-related trade restrictions.

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