-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,592504,00.html
}}}>Begin
EU gets tough on Israeli exports
Preferential rates to be scrapped
Ian Black and Andrew Osborn in Brussels
Tuesday November 13, 2001
The Guardian
The European Union is poised to punish Israel by ending low tariffs
for goods produced in occupied Palestinian territories, the Guardian
has learned.
In the first sign that EU impatience with the Jewish state is being
translated into practical policy, preferential tariffs that have
applied for more than 25 years are to be stopped within months,
diplomats said.
Palestinians and Arab states will be jubilant at the decision,
expected to be announced at talks between Israel and the EU in
Brussels next week.
The long-running row about so-called "rules of origin" is over
Israeli-labelled goods exported from settlements in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip and enjoying preferential access to EU markets. Several
member states have accused Israel of cheating and in some cases
national customs authorities have acted to recoup losses.
The EU is Israel's biggest trade partner, accounting for nearly a third of Israeli
exports. Behind a mass of technical detail lies the question of the legality of
Israeli rule over Arab lands occupied in the 1967 war. "Th
is is a highly sensitive question and it is naive to pretend it is purely technical,"
one senior official said.
Israel's ambassador to the EU, Harry Knei-Tal, warned the move would be
counter-productive, damaging the already fragile Palestinian economy and undermining
the EU's role as a credible mediator in the peace process.
"The timing is bad. This is an attempt to take a technical economic problem and use it
to prejudge a political solution. It will reopen the question of whether Europe is
sincere," he said. "I don't know what the reaction
will be when EU foreign ministers come to Jerusalem and ask to be treated as honest
brokers."
The Guardian has also learned that in a separate move the EU is considering cutting
hundreds of millions of pounds of development aid to developing Muslim and non-Muslim
nations whose governments mistreat women.
The policy, which has yet to be formally agreed, is certain to outrage the governments
concerned who will view Brussels's tactics as cultural imperialism.
In a position paper the EU commissioner makes specific reference to Muslim and
non-Muslim states in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These include Afghanistan,
Iran, Sierra Leone, India and China.
"This is one of the few bits of leverage available to us," said one official. "We are
not seeking to punish countries but to encourage them to change their ways."
The decision to end preferential treatment for Israeli goods from the occupied
territories is likely to be confirmed next Monday. It reflects anger in Brussels with
the government of the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, whos
e policy of "targeted assassinations" of Palestinian fighters and prolonged closures
of the West Bank and Gaza are blamed for making a bad situation worse.
The European commission has been pressing for the change for years but met strong
opposition from governments such as Germany and the Netherlands, which were unwilling
to be seen to be applying pressure on Israel.
Over the past few months the EU has repeatedly attacked Israel's
"disproportionate" use of force and called for an end to illegal
settlements.
Economic damage to Israel is likely be more symbolic than real, to
the tune of about £140m worth of exports, including cosmetics,
plastics and soda concentrate, from two settlements, Barkan and
Mishor Adumin, which employ 20,000 Palestinians.
The EU is trying hard to boost its diplomatic profile in the Middle
East and its foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, has become an
influential figure.
Later this week he accompanies Louis Michel, prime minister of
Belgium and holder of the EU presidency, on another bout of so-called
"relay diplomacy", designed to maintain a permanent European presence
in the region.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
End<{{{
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