June 20, 2025
● Among those with a clear opinion, 74% of Germans and 92% of Italians support ending arms sales to Israel if humanitarian law is not respected
● 77% of Germans and 89% of Italians back suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement over human rights violations
● Over 330,000 people have signed a global petition calling on the EU to act
● Offline delivery and protest planned at EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels
BERLIN/ROME/BRUSSELS – 20 June 2025 – New YouGov polling commissioned by Ekō reveals overwhelming public support in Germany and Italy for stronger EU action in response to Israel’s human rights abuses in Gaza. Ahead of Monday’s EU Foreign Affairs Council, where ministers will debate the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a clear majority of respondents in both countries call for an end to arms exports and suspension of trade ties with Israel if international law continues to be violated.
When excluding respondents who expressed no opinion, 74% of Germans and 92% of Italians support ending arms exports to Israel if it continues violating humanitarian law. Similarly, 77% of Germans and 89% of Italians believe the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended if Israel fails to uphold human rights and democratic principles — as required under Article 2 of the agreement.
Suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement requires a qualified majority vote among EU member states — meaning the support of major countries like Germany and Italy is essential. Without a ‘yes’ from one or both of these governments, the deal cannot be suspended.
“This is a tipping point,” said Nabil Berbour, Campaign Director at Ekō. “Thousands of our members around the world are flooding social media — from Instagram to Twitter — with messages to Kaja Kallas and EU foreign ministers, demanding an end to this complicity. On Monday, we’ll be in the streets of Brussels too, with a protest and digital ad van circling EU buildings to bring citizens’ demands straight to decision-makers.”
The protest, co-organized by WeMove Europe, ECCP, and Ekō, will gather in front of the EU Council on Monday 23 June, from 12:30 to 14:00 CEST. It will include participants who walked from Paris to Brussels — a 300km solidarity march — and activists recently returned from the Global March to Gaza in Egypt. On Sunday and Monday, a digital ad van will project urgent messages across the EU quarter calling for the immediate suspension of the EU-Israel deal.
The EU-Israel Association Agreement is a key trade pact worth billions of euros to Israel. Yet its Article 2 makes clear that respect for human rights is a binding condition. Campaigners argue that ongoing atrocities in Gaza — including mass civilian killings, starvation, and the targeting of aid workers — require the EU to take immediate action to suspend the deal.
More than 330,000 people have signed Ekō’s and WeMove’s global petition urging EU governments to suspend arms deals and trade with Israel until it complies with international law.
Eoin Dubsky, Senior Campaigner at Ekō, added:
“For months we’ve called on the EU to use its power to stop this horror. We now have the people, the momentum, and the legal justification to act. Suspending the trade deal and arms sales isn’t just a political option — it’s a legal and moral obligation.”
Media contact:
French: Nabil Berbour — nabil@eko.org | +33 7 56 82 06 55
English: Eoin Dubsky — eoin@eko.org | +31 6 41 63 64 10
More information: https://action.eko.org/a/suspend-the-eu-israel-deal
For any questions regarding YouGov:
Antoine Schauli, Client Engagement Executive at YouGov: antoine.schauli@yougov.com
Chansouda Duangphrachanh, Senior Research Executive at YouGov: c.duangphrachanh@yougov.com / +33 (0) 1 84 17 25 18
More information:
Germany
EK1. Suspension of arms sales
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has announced that he will review arms exports to Israel due to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Would you be in favour of or against Germany suspending its arms sales to Israel if international humanitarian law is not fully respected in the Gaza Strip?
- Fully in favour: 38%
- Rather in favour: 23%
Rather against: 12% - Fully against: 9%
- Don’t know / no response: 18%
- NET In favour: 61%
- NET Against: 21%
- Unweighted N: 2323
Excluding “don’t knows”
- Fully in favour: 47%
- Rather in favour: 28%
- Rather against: 14%
- Fully against: 11%
- NET In favour: 74%
- NET Against: 26%
- Unweighted N: 1956
EK2. Suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement
"Article 2 of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel states that the partnership is based on respect for human rights and democratic principles. Most EU foreign ministers have recently agreed to review the agreement. Would you be in favour or against Germany voting to suspend the agreement if these principles are not respected?"
- Fully in favour: 31%
- Rather in favour: 27%
- Rather against: 11%
- Fully against: 7%
- Don’t know / no response: 23%
- NET In favour: 59%
- NET Against: 18%
- Unweighted N: 2323
Excluding “don’t knows”
- Fully in favour: 41%
- Rather in favour: 36%
- Rather against: 14%
- Fully against: 9%
- NET In favour: 77%
- NET Against: 23%
- Unweighted N: 1820
Italy
EK1. Suspension of Arms Sales to Israel
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani recently stated that Israel's military offensive in Gaza is "dramatic and unacceptable" and called for its immediate cessation. Given that Italy has suspended the issuance of new arms export licenses to Israel, do you agree that Italy should suspend all arms sales to Israel until international humanitarian law is fully respected in Gaza?
- Yes, strongly agree: 66%
- Yes, somewhat agree: 18%
- No, somewhat disagree: 4%
- No, strongly disagree: 4%
- Don’t know / no opinion: 9%
- NET Agree: 84%
- NET Disagree: 7%
- Unweighted N: 1021
Excluding “don’t knows”
- Yes, strongly agree: 72%
- Yes, somewhat agree: 19%
- No, somewhat disagree: 4%
- No, strongly disagree: 4%
- NET Agree: 92%
- NET Disagree: 8%
- Unweighted N: 931
EK2. Suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement
Article 2 of the EU–Israel Association Agreement states that the partnership is based on respect for human rights and democratic principles. Most EU Foreign Ministers have recently agreed to review this agreement. Do you agree that Italy should support suspending the agreement as long as those principles are not being respected?
- Yes, strongly agree: 57%
- Yes, somewhat agree: 21%
- No, somewhat disagree: 5%
- No, strongly disagree: 5%
- Don’t know / no opinion: 12%
- NET Favour: 78%
- NET Against: 10%
- Unweighted N: 1021
Excluding “don’t knows”
- Yes, strongly agree: 65%
- Yes, somewhat agree: 24%
- No, somewhat disagree: 6%
- No, strongly disagree: 6%
- NET Favour: 89%
- NET Against: 11%
Unweighted N: 898