Brussels, 12/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission adopted an “interpretive notice” for member states on Wednesday 11 November on the indication of the origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967.
This decision, which has been the subject of debate since 2012 and called for intermittently by the member states, is not a new piece of legislation. Rather it clarifies a number of points relating to interpretation and effective implementation of EU trade legislation, which seeks to inform European consumers of where the goods they buy come from, the Commission says.
It seeks to provide EU member states, economic operators and European consumers with the necessary information on the indication of origin of products when it comes to products originating in Israeli settlements beyond Israel's 1967 borders. Thus, the EU continues to ensure that its legislation applies to Israel within its internationally recognised, pre-1967 borders.
Though the EU has special trade relations with Israel, under the terms of their 2000 association agreement, which grants Israeli products preferential tariffs treatment on the European market, no such preference or other trade facilitation measure applies to goods originating in the Israeli settlements in the West bank or the Golan heights. Currently, however, goods from these occupied territories are labelled as having been made in Israel.
“EU legislation on indication of origin is very clear: 'Made in Israel' used for the products coming from Israeli settlements would mislead the consumer and therefore is inconsistent with existing EU legislation”, states the Commission in a fact sheet.
The decision now requires food and distribution industries in the EU specifically to label goods from the settlements.
The goods concerned, for the most part agricultural produce (fruit, vegetables, wine) and cosmetics represent less than 1% of total trade between the EU and Israel, €154 million in 2014, according to Commission figures.
“This is a technical issue, not adoption of a political stance”, said Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis at a press briefing on Wednesday, pointing out that the EU did not support any form of boycott or sanction against Israel.
While hailed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as a “step in the right direction”, though one that did not go far enough, the decision was immediately strongly condemned by Israel. “The labelling of goods from Israel by the EU awakens dark memories. Europe should be ashamed”, commented Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “While there are hundreds of territorial conflicts across the globe, (the EU) has decided to direct its attention only towards Israel, when Israel has its back to the wall against a wave of terrorism” (our translation throughout), he regretted. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)