Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-04-Speech-4-194"
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"en.20030904.6.4-194"2
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".
Mr President, the European Union policy towards Israel lies in partnership and cooperation. It aims to contribute to a resolution of the ongoing conflict, along with other international partners, and in close collaboration with the parties involved.
The Commission is aware of the difficult circumstances in which the business communities are currently working in the Middle East region. At the same time, the European Commission, as guardian of the Treaty, is responsible for guaranteeing the full and correct application of Community law, including international agreements concluded by the Community and therefore the implementation of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
I can confirm then that in applying the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the EU relies on international law for the territorial definition of the State of Israel, thus excluding the territories under Israeli administration since 1967 in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Therefore, products originating in these areas are not entitled to benefit from preferential treatment under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
Following confirmation from Israel that its customs authorities certified goods coming from the settlements as being of Israeli origin, the Commission published a notice to the importers in the Official Journal of the European Union in November 2001, in order to inform them of the situation.
According to the provisions of the bilateral agreement, it is the responsibility of the customs administrations of the EU Member States to check the origin of goods with the Israeli authorities through the post-verification procedure. It is also their responsibility to take the necessary precautions where a customs debt is due. It is in this context that the recovery of duties is now undertaken by the customs administrations of the Member States. These measures, initiated by the Commission, aim to protect the financial and legal interests of the Community.
At the same time, I can only reiterate that the Commission has always declared its willingness to cooperate and examine any technical proposal from the Israeli authorities to find a solution for this issue which would respect the terms of the Association Agreement.
In other words, one can conclude that the Commission has taken the necessary measures to ensure correct application of Community law. As a result, Member States are imposing duties on products from the settlements. We keep this regularly under review with Member States' customs authorities and we are also continuing to talk to Israel about technical issues related to customs certificates."@en1
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