Brussels, 15/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - Respect for international law and for fundamental rights and liberties has always been central to EU foreign policy and is an indispensible component for the resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. In a joint report published on 14 February, the EMHRN (Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network) and APRODEV (the association of church related [Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox] development agencies based in Europe) highlight inconsistency between the EU's official commitments and implementation of its policies on the ground in its bilateral relations with Israel. They regret that the EU does not play a more active role and that it does not use all the means at its disposal to exert pressure to push Israel to comply with its obligations in terms of international humanitarian law in the occupied territories.
The EMHRN and APRODEV believe that the review of the European neighbourhood policy (ENP) in May of last year, following the Arab Spring, provides the opportunity to review certain conditions of its partnership with Israel and to ensure that international law will be complied with in its relations with the Jewish state. The ENP offers neighbouring partner countries - including Israel - access to the EU internal market on condition of full respect for democratic principles and human rights.
In their report, the EMHRN and APRODEV call on the European institutions to (1) make any diplomatic and economic developments conditional upon respect for international law and human rights; (2) systematically report all infringements by Israel of international law in the occupied territories; (3) increase cooperation with civil society organisations, granting them a greater consultative role.
The import by the EU of goods produced in the Israeli settlements has been a subject of contention for many years. Israel makes no distinction between exports from the occupied territories and from inside its borders, which attract preferential customs duties. To overcome this difficulty, the EU and Israel reached agreement in 2004 that certificates of origin, determined by post code, should be fixed to goods imported from Israel. However, the system is not working. EMHRN and APRODEV flag up the inability of European customs officers to properly inspect these certificates of origin on Israeli goods, leaving the way free for illegal imports. The two associations propose (1) placing restrictive measures on goods from the settlements or on import-export companies; (2) putting in place an accurate labelling system in line with strict guidelines. (SD, stag/transl.rt)