Strasbourg, 04/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - During a debate at the European Parliament, several MEPs affirmed on Thursday that Israel would continue to be in breach of the association agreement by benefiting from the preferential system for products from the Israel settlements occupying Palestinian territories. The Commission considers that it has taken all the measures it could impose to ensure effective application of Community law and pointed out that the customs authorities of the Member States had to verify the origin of products and take customs duties when goods came from the settlements. The Israelis have refuted fraud and indicated that the EU was effectively applying customs duties on products from the territories in question.
Commissioner Poul Nielsen, pointed out that products from territories in Gaza, East Jerusalem, West Bank and the Golan Heights could not benefit from a preferential regime included in the association agreement. Speaking for the EPP-ED group, John Cushnahan from Ireland only took note of the Commission's explanations but declared that in his opinion, Israel was not respecting the provisions in the association agreement. He called on Member States to take more vigorous action to settle this problem. Proinsias De Rossa from Ireland speaking for the PES said that it would be necessary to "suspend" the association agreement between the two parties insofar as the Israelis were responsible for breaching the provisions of the agreement. Bill Newton Dunn from Britain declared on behalf of the ELDR that they had noted a continued violation of the rules of the agreement. Luisa Morgantini (GUE/NGL, Italy) thought that the "EU ought to ensure that the preferential system did not apply to products from the colonies". Jan Dhaene, Belgium, speaking for the Greens/EFA also called on respect for the association agreement. Bastiaan Belder (EDD, the Netherlands) backed up the "measured" reaction of his government concluding that Israeli certificates on the origin of the products were in compliance.