Brussels, 16/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The annual political dialogue meeting between the EU - represented by European Commission Director for the Middle East and South Mediterranean Tomas Dupla del Moral - and Israel opened in Jerusalem on Wednesday with the agenda covering points in relations ranging from the more general, such as the action plan within the Neighbourhood Policy, to the particular, in the region.
The dialogue takes place in 10 sub-committees set up under the action plan. In Brussels, it is pointed out that, since coming into application, the action plan has given new energy and focus to EU-Israel relations, leading to the current discussions on upgrading bilateral relations. The general objective is to gradually integrate Israel into European policies and programmes. The action plan, which is “tailor-made” to reflect EU-Israel relations, has, “for the first time”, given Israel financial support, totalling €14 million, from the Community budget. (F.B./transl.rt)