NEWS
Sanctions on Ben Gvir: the EU blocked by unanimity, while individual states act
15 June 2026 — EU Foreign Affairs Council · Brussels
The facts
On 15 June 2026, at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas confirmed that the unanimity required to sanction Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir is lacking: EU individual measures need the vote of all 27, and the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary are opposed. The trigger was the video in which Ben Gvir taunted the Flotilla activists pinned to the ground, two of whom allege assault in detention. Meanwhile many states have acted on their own: the UK, Norway, Canada, Australia and New Zealand outside the EU; Slovenia, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and, in recent days, France and Ireland have banned Ben Gvir and Smotrich from entry.
Legal comment
The knot is structural, not personal: EU individual sanctions require the unanimity of the 27, and a single veto blocks them. Yet an alternative route exists: restricting trade with the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank — whose unlawfulness is affirmed by the International Court of Justice advisory opinion of 19 July 2024 — can be framed as trade policy and approved by qualified majority, without unanimity. National entry bans, meanwhile, remain fully within each state's competence.
Implications
It is the very mechanism the Flotilla manifesto pointed to: unanimity, born to protect sovereignty, becomes the shield of impunity. The EU sanctioned Russia within hours; before a sitting Israeli minister — already sanctioned by five Western democracies — it stays paralysed. Either the rule binds everyone, or it is not a rule.
Sources: RTE · The National · EUobserver · Irish Times
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