Brussels, 09/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Visiting Israel on Tuesday 8 September, European Council President Donald Tusk stated during the evening that the EU did not intend to boycott Israel.
“We have to avoid words like 'boycott' because for sure this is not Europe's intention. No country in Europe wants to boycott Israel. The essence of our relation is quite the opposite”, Tusk underlined before his meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said that the bilateral relationship between the EU and Israel was among the most “advanced with a non-European country”. Netanyahu said he believed that “some in Europe thought that the only thing that they had to do was create pressure, boycott and vilify the only real democracy in the Middle East, Israel”. Israel is concerned at the progress of the EU's work on the labelling of products from the settlements, and believes that this could result in a boycott of these products.
Netanyahu also asked the EU to stop concluding dangerous agreements for Israel. The EU “aims to put pressure unilaterally on Israel with agreements that endanger our very existence”, he said. The EU has facilitated the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme. Iran does not recognise Israel. Tusk stated that this agreement could lead to a breakthrough in the relationship between Iran and the international community. “But a real breakthrough in the long-time prospective will not be sustainable if Iran does not change its attitude towards Israel”, Tusk added, saying that Israel's security had to remain one of Europe's priorities.
Tusk also said that the EU did not see “any alternative to a negotiated two-state solution”. “We are trying to understand the arguments of both sides and are ready to support all the positive actions in that regard”, he said, adding that he was “worried” by the fact that the peace process is “not moving forward”. “I know it's a difficult process”, that it “is not black and white, and I'm fully aware that it needs patience and time”, Tusk added. He said he also thought that a way of addressing the challenges in the Middle East was to relaunch the peace process.
Tusk visited Ramallah on Wednesday 9 September to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)