EU Council lawyers said draft Israel-EU Police deal breaches law

Tech Times reported that a Sept. 22, 2022 draft EU-Israel police data agreement would let Israeli police and the Shin Bet use Europol-received personal data in territories occupied since 1967.

The draft has not been adopted. In a Nov. 29, 2022 opinion, the EU Council Legal Service said the draft breached EU and international law and that the Commission did not keep the Council properly informed. The lawyers said the territorial derogation should be taken out entirely.

A footnote said no prior EU-Israel pact had covered territories occupied in 1967, and this draft would. The lawyers accepted that Israel must maintain public order in occupied territories but said other states or organizations may not assist it on that basis.

The International Court of Justice’s July 19, 2024, advisory opinion said states must not recognize Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and must not aid or assist in maintaining that situation. The opinion is not binding.

UN Special Rapporteur Ben Saul said the derogation appeared to contravene duties under international law. Eitan Diamond of the Diakonia IHL Centre said the ICJ opinion supports the Council lawyers’ reasoning.

The Commission refused to give EUobserver details on its objections. The Commission told Novara Media any agreement would include fundamental-rights safeguards that would set limits on data use connected to the death penalty.

Magnus Brunner said on Sept. 1 that no further negotiating rounds have taken place and none are planned at this stage. EUobserver reported at least seven meetings between Commission officials and Israeli diplomats on the agreement from 2023 to Jan. 28, 2026. One meeting included then-foreign minister Eli Cohen in April 2023.

The Council Secretariat denied public access to the draft in May 2026, pointing to the international-relations exception and the Commission’s position that talks remain unresolved. The Council told Statewatch that the 2018 negotiating mandate remains unmodified and still applies. Under the 2018 working arrangement, Europol and Israel were not permitted to exchange personal data.

One obstacle delaying talks was Israel’s National Police headquarters in East Jerusalem, a place the international community treats as occupied. Europol told Statewatch its role in the negotiations was limited to passive listening and that it was unable to say whether the agreement would permit data use in occupied territories. Europol’s Fundamental Rights Officer told Statewatch the office has not carried out an assessment of fundamental rights in cooperation with Israel.

Mounir Satouri, a French Green MEP, called the situation a double scandal and said negotiations should be suspended immediately. The Commission says an adequacy decision for Israel has existed since 2011 and underwent review in 2024. According to Itxaso Domínguez of EDRi, the decision is limited to the State of Israel under international law, and she said an exception for occupied territories could erode a central boundary of that decision.

The Privacy Protection Authority in Israel is part of the justice ministry, and its oversight of bodies such as the Shin Bet has drawn questions. The European Data Protection Supervisor said independent oversight is more than a good practice.

Magnus Brunner wants member states to automate data uploads and to cooperate instantly through a common data area. He also proposed making Europol a technology and innovation hub covering decryption and AI. Opinion 18/2026 from the European Data Protection Supervisor concluded the proposal would allow Europol to handle biometric information about people not linked to any established criminal case.

Statewatch tracked 154 Cellebrite contracts running from Jan. 1, 2023 to July 1, 2026. Of those, 114 were in 17 EU countries, plus one contract in Norway and 39 in the UK. They were worth €69.4 million, about $78 million.

The most expensive contract is the London Metropolitan Police’s three-year 2023 deal worth £7.9 million, about €9.2 million. The total included EU funds of €4.25 million, about $4.8 million, for purchases. Cellebrite told Statewatch its technology supports millions of lawful investigations each year.

Anan Yaeesh’s lawyer, Flavio Rossi Albertini, says Italian officials shared data from Yaeesh’s devices with Israeli authorities via mutual legal assistance. The lawyer says Israeli forces killed four men in Tulkarem in November 2023, soon after that request. The lawyer’s account is a claim, not an established finding.

Hendrik Torner’s phone was held in Germany for over 11 months. A regional court in Germany ruled the seizure unlawful. Torner’s constitutional complaint is pending.

In mid-July, 27 MEPs asked the Commission to clarify the meetings, the talks’ status and human-rights risks. A final agreement would need approval from the Council and the European Parliament before adoption.

It remains unclear whether the territorial exception survived, was changed or was removed. It is also unclear whether the Commission will publish its legal reasoning. The Commission says nothing is scheduled, and that response is the only public indicator of the deal’s current status.

Currency conversions are approximate and rely on exchange rates from the publication date. A Statewatch overview page for a project on Europe-Israel police and surveillance-technology ties carries the date Nov. 12.