Brussels, 07/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 5 June, Israel's ambassador to the European Union, David Walzer, reproached his European partners for focusing on the settlements too much in their relationship. At a conference he said his European partners focused on the settlement policy instead of focusing on how to be more effective in bringing peace. While he does not ask the EU to refrain from talking about the settlements, he said he hoped to have a much broader agenda with the EU. Limiting the discussion to the issue of the settlements limits the options for Europe and Israel, he regretted. He said that Israel's cooperation with the EU could skyrocket when it comes to high technology, and scientific and trade exchanges, and he added that there are Israeli companies ready to work and invest in Europe.
On 7 June, European officials said that Israel remains the EU's biggest trade partner among the European Neighbourhood countries. Cooperation on science is also a key element in EU-Israel relations. The seventh EU framework programme is now the biggest source of funding for civilian scientific research in Israel.
Speaking in his own capacity, Walzer stressed that, if the EU bans Israeli products that come from the settlements, tens of thousands of Palestinians, employed by Israelis in the West Bank, could lose their jobs. The EU member states are currently discussing the labelling of products made in the settlements but are not considering banning the products themselves. Stating that the EU opposes all forms of boycott and sanctions with regard to Israel, the European officials underlined that, due to EU law, there are a certain number of requirements for the labelling of products as it would be misleading for products from the settlements to be labelled “Made in Israel”. In the officials' opinion, without accurate labelling, there is a risk that European consumers might not buy Israeli products for fear that they might be buying products from the settlements. (CG/transl.fl)