The petition, initiated three months ago by the European Left Alliance including the Left Party under the slogan Justice for Palestine, specifically targets the EU-Israel Association Agreement that has governed free trade since 2000. Reaching one million signatures means the European Commission must present a proposal in line with the petition's demands, though the exact actions and timeline remain unclear. The alliance plans to wait to submit the petition until it gathers a couple hundred thousand more signatures, aiming for 1.5 million to account for duplicates, ID issues, and administrative reasons, with the validation process still ongoing. After validation, the petition will automatically reach the Commission, and the alliance also intends to raise the campaign in the European Parliament.
This initiative was launched by the Left Party and European Left Alliance but has involved collaborations with other movements beyond the party-political sphere. It faces political challenges as the EU is currently dominated by right-wing parties in both the Parliament and the Council, many of which have openly supported the Israeli government since the invasion of Gaza. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, adding weight to the petition's potential impact.
When a country in the most obvious way violates basic respect for international law and human rights, then you have to apply a brake.
Malin Björk, chair of the European Left Alliance and a petition initiator, believes European sanctions are completely necessary. According to Flamman, Malin Björk described the milestone of one million signatures as fantastic and said the EU's response will test whether it stands up for international law. She believes the campaign has great potential for political impact, even if the EU chooses not to suspend the Association Agreement. According to Flamman, Malin Björk emphasized that if EU institutions delay, the alliance will escalate efforts to prevent solidarity with Palestine from falling silent.
The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, so it would be felt significantly.
It is clear that there are forces that do not want to do anything, and that is precisely why we have launched the campaign. We do not accept that nothing is done, or that solidarity with Palestine falls silent.
A clearer test of whether the EU and Sweden's government stand up for international law cannot be had. A lot is at stake and that is why so many citizens want to be involved and engaged.
You usually need to get in significantly more than one million, because there are duplicates, ID documents that are not approved, that is, various administrative reasons. We will continue to 1.5 million to be on the absolutely safe side.
If the EU's institutions still continue to brake, then we will have to step up and simply continue the work until the EU and individual member states act. The alternative is to watch in resignation, do nothing at all and let solidarity with Palestine fall silent.