The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, stressed, on Tuesday 2 May, after a meeting with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, that “cooperation between the EU and Israel is very strong”.
“The EU is keen on deepening this relationship further”, said Mr Borrell, who hoped for another Association Council meeting this year, according to the European External Action Service (EEAS) statement. According to the Israeli side, the Council could be held in Jerusalem, but the EEAS told EUROPE that the venue had not yet been decided.
The High Representative explained that “holding the Association Council as the highest institutional level of bilateral dialogue is important not just to continue strengthening EU-Israel relationship, but also because of the importance of cooperation to face global challenges”.
“Israel is opening a new page in its relations with the EU”, the Israeli ministry said in a statement. In another statement, issued after a meeting between Mr Cohen and EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, the ministry said that “the EU (is) one of Israel’s main trading partners”. “We will continue to strengthen the important ties with the Union, to advance the interests of the State of Israel”, he added.
During their meeting, Mr Cohen and Mr Borrell discussed the situation in the Middle East. The High Representative condemned the recent terrorist and rocket attacks against Israelis and underlined the EU’s commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself. He recalled that any response must be proportionate and in accordance with international law and expressed concern about the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Mr Borrell reiterated the EU’s call on Israel to “stop unilateral measures that could aggravate the already high level of tension” and jeopardise the very possibility of a future just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution. He reiterated the importance of respecting the status quo of the Holy Places.
“The EU is seeking an open and constructive exchange with Israel on the Middle East peace process”, the EEAS said, adding that the High Representative reiterated Europe’s readiness to contribute to a peace process.
“The EU and Israel will continue to deepen their bilateral dialogue on all these topics”, the EEAS statement said, adding that Mr Borrell had accepted Mr Cohen’s invitation to visit Israel.
According to the Israeli Ministry, at the Cohen/Várhelyi meeting, the EU promised that European budgets “would not indirectly reach terrorist organisations” and that it would fund new research on incitement to hatred and antisemitism in Palestinian Authority textbooks. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)