The EU has been saying for months it could offer unprecedented support for Israel and the Palestinians if they reach a final deal to resolve the decades-long conflict, but the bloc was yet to give any specific details. Following a discussion of foreign ministers Monday, Baroness Ashton gave some details of the possible benefits. We want this to create huge opportunities in transport, energy, water, environment...business to business contacts, she said. We want to see progressive market integration, trade and investment facilitation and deeper ties in research projects and security cooperation. Baroness Ashton also said the EU opposes a boycott of Israeli companies and businesses. We dont want to see Israel isolated, she said, adding that the bloc remains staunchly opposed to Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas. A number of groups within the EU have called for Israeli goods to be boycotted and academic ties to be cut because of Israels policies towards the Palestinians. The EU has repeatedly called Israeli settlements illegal and say they risk making a two-state solution impossible. The EU has long had a rocky relationship with Israel, with tensions surfacing again last summer over an EU move to ensure that Brussels budget funds dont flow to any institutions based in the occupied territories--land that Israel occupied in the 1967 war. The EU is also weighing new guidelines setting out how products from the occupied territories should be labeled. Brussels has traditionally had close ties with the Palestinian authorities and is its largest official donor.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 00:11:31 +0000
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