German Chancellor Friedrich Merz following a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid on 18 September 2025. [Getty]
Germany will reach a decision on whether to back European Union sanctions against Israel before a European Union meeting in Copenhagen in October, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on a visit to Madrid on Thursday.
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed suspending a trade arrangement affecting about 5.8 billion euros of Israeli exports due to the Gaza war, although the measure does not currently have enough support among EU nations to pass.
“We will reach a final opinion of the German government on these questions, which now need to be answered at the European level, in the coming days,” Merz said, speaking alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
“We will discuss these issues again next week at the federal cabinet level. I assume that we will then have a position at the informal council meeting on 1 October in Copenhagen that will also be supported by the entire German government.”
Merz said Israel’s actions in Gaza were not proportional to its stated goals, but said Germany did not share the view that the actions amounted to genocide.
He added that for Germany, the recognition of Palestinian statehood was not currently up for debate.
His comments underscore how Germany has become increasingly willing to criticise Israel but is still reluctant to take punitive measures against a country for which its government feels a special responsibility.
Germany maintains it has a particular obligation to Israel because of its responsibility for the Holocaust of Europe’s Jews, a position that has come under strain due to growing European alarm at the Gaza conflict, in which at least 65,141 Palestinians have been killed.
Israeli tanks were advancing on Thursday in two Gaza City areas that are gateways to the city centre, while internet and phone lines were cut off across the Gaza Strip, a sign that ground operations were likely to further escalate imminently.
(Reuters and TNA staff)