Europe failed the test at the Foreign Affairs Council over Israeli bonds – our campaign is more important than ever

Yesterday, on October 20, EU foreign ministers met in Luxembourg for the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). Among the matters under discussion was the first phase of the Gaza peace framework that was agreed earlier this month under United States president Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

While the Council officially “exchanged views” on how to support implementation of the ceasefire and reconstruction, no decisive measures were adopted to pressure Israel over continuing violations or to punish complicity by EU governments.

Luxembourg, the very country hosting the FAC, remains one of the key actors in this hypocrisy: it recently approved the purchase of Israeli government bonds, thereby continuing to finance a regime accused of apartheid, occupation, and repeated assaults on civil society.

We are left with a stark conclusion: Europe is talking about peace, but behaving as if war is business as usual.

While some progress has been made, with Israel and Hamas formally agreeing to the first phase of a peace plan proposed by US president Donald Trump, we know these words can mean very little to Israel in reality. This has already been proven by reports that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of deadly strikes across Gaza on October 20.

The European Council referenced this development, warning that “unless we see real and sustained change on the ground … the threat of sanctions remains on the table.”

The EU’s posture is tentative, deferring to the pause of hostilities rather than assuming responsibility for accountability. Meanwhile, Luxembourg and others continue to maintain financial ties to the Israeli state.

Moreover, the peace agreement’s details remain vague. The long road toward a just resolution is not assured, especially since structural issues – the occupation, settler expansion, the fate of Gaza’s governance, the right of return – have not been resolved in a binding way.

Drop the Bonds, Stop the Bombs campaign more important than ever

This is not the moment to let up, precisely because talk of a “deal” can become a cover for continued impunity. That’s why the Drop the Bonds, Stop the Bombs campaign remains critical.

Luxembourg’s decision is part of a larger pattern. Across the continent, banks, pension funds and state treasuries continue to invest in Israeli bonds and arms companies. The EU maintains preferential trade agreements with Israel, even as Israeli ministers openly defy international courts and human rights conventions.

European leaders express “concern” about war crimes while profiting from them. They send humanitarian aid to Gaza with one hand and weapons contracts to Tel Aviv with the other. This moral schizophrenia must end.

As Palestinian civil society and movements like BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) have made clear, the only credible response is accountability: economic and political pressure until apartheid falls. Anything less is complicity.

A call to action

Europe’s ministers cannot claim ignorance. The evidence is public, the crimes ongoing, and the moral stakes undeniable. To continue business as usual is to greenlight ethnic cleansing and collective punishment – acts that meet the very definition of genocide.

DiEM25 calls on every member and ally to act now by signing our petition. Luxembourg’s decision to fund Israel’s crimes through bond purchases must not set a precedent – it must become a rallying cry.

Europe faces a choice between complicity and courage. Between investing in apartheid, or standing with those fighting for freedom.

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