Luxembourg, 07/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Saturday 5 September, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini announced that the EU was moving forward on the issue of labelling products from Israeli settlements. The legislation exists but is not applied.
At the request of ministers, Mogherini had tasked the European Commission before the summer to work on the guidelines so that the decisions taken on the subject could be implemented jointly. “We are moving forward. The work is almost complete and finalised, but it is still ongoing”, she said at a press conference after the Gymnich-type informal foreign ministers' meeting. “It's expected to come up on the [ministers'] table soon”, she added. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said he hoped that “by the end of the year we might have resolved this issue”.
The previous day, Belgiuim's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said that the Commission had been working on the labelling over the summer. “I think that we're now ready to implement the European regulation that exists. I hope that in the coming months (…), in the resumption of the [peace] process, this element can be used”, he added. In April 2015 (see EUROPE 11297), the foreign affairs ministers of the 16 member states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK) had asked Mogherini to advance the process of labelling goods produced in the Israeli settlements.
During a press conference in Brussels on Monday 7 September, the Palestinian foreign minster, Riad Malki, said he thought labelling products from the settlements was “very positive”, but that this should have been implemented “a long time ago”. “It's moving in the right direction, but it's laughable”, he added.
Helping relaunch the peace process. More generally, Mogherini said she was sure the EU would prepare measures “in the coming weeks” to relaunch the peace process. Reynders hoped that in the coming months, this process might really be reactivated. “We really would like the EU and the member states to resume the initiatives. We're going to play a more active role in the Middle East and really have a word to say”, he also said. “What I would especially like is that the EU no longer be content with paying, but really play a role”. “It's enough to pay, it's the moment to play”, he added. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)