EU court supports group against imports from Israeli settlements

The ruling rescinds a decision by the bloc’s executive branch in 2019 not to register a petition submitted by citizens.

A European Union court on Wednesday ruled in favour of litigants seeking to ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements on occupied land, rescinding a decision by the bloc’s executive branch in 2019 not to register a petition submitted by citizens. The European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – failed to adequately state the reasons for its decision not to register the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) proposal, the Luxembourg-based General Court said in a statement. Through the ECI, EU citizens make proposals for legislation that the European Commission is obliged to consider when they are supported by the signatures of one million citizens.