Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell on behalf of the European Commission

12.10.2021

The EU and its Member States are committed to ensuring implementation of existing EU legislation and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlements products. All agreements between Israel and the EU must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967.

The EU and its Member States are the leading voluntary contributors to the budget of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)[1] and advocate for adequate allocations from the United Nations regular budget. The EU is firm in its support of the independence of the High Commissioner and her office, which should be able to fully implement all the mandates entrusted to them by the Human Rights Council.

Regarding the Resolution 31/36 on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by the Human Rights Council on 24 March 2016, the EU did not support the establishment of the database and EU Member States members of the Human Rights Council jointly abstained.

The EU’s view is that the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, endorsed by consensus in the Human Rights Council, need to be applied globally. The EU calls on all companies, including European companies, to implement them in all circumstances, including in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. Member States have the primary role to raise the awareness of business enterprises of such risks.

• [1] https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/AboutUs/FundingBudget/VoluntaryContributions2021.pdf