Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-09-26-Speech-1-072-000"
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"en.20110926.17.1-072-000"2
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"Madam President, Ms Koppa, honourable Members, this is an agreement which, whilst it will not solve the region’s problems on its own, certainly presents opportunities that we ought to make the most of.
The new agreement, which the European Union signed with the Palestinian Authority on 13 April 2011, gives free access to the European market for all agricultural, processed agricultural and fisheries products from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with the exception of the fruit and vegetables sector, as Ms Koppa mentioned, for which the EU has kept the entry price system. This means that there is partial protection in place during certain important periods for EU producers, whilst the rest of the time Palestinian products can be exported to the EU. This unilateral concession by the European Union has been granted on a provisional basis for a ten-year period, after which there is the opportunity to extend the agreement, depending on Palestine’s future economic development.
The agreement also includes a review clause, whereby five years after it came into force, the conditions of the agreement may be reviewed and its scope widened if necessary.
The agreement also contains an ‘anti-fraud’ clause providing for temporary withdrawal of the trade preferences, which is intended to ensure that only Palestinian products benefit from this preferential agreement. I know that, during the discussion within the Committee on International Trade, some of you raised the concern that other people might benefit from the agreement. I think this clause should deal with that concern.
This agreement is one of the most generous that the EU has ever signed in the field of agriculture. It is justified by the politico-economic situation and the specific circumstances surrounding Palestine’s agricultural sector.
The Palestinian Authority is the EU’s smallest trade partner in the Euro-Mediterranean region. EU exports to Palestine were worth EUR 57.5 million in 2009 and EUR 89.3 million in 2010. At the same time, EU imports from Palestine were worth only EUR 6.5 million in 2009, and EUR 9.3 million in 2010. Opening the market to this region should provide a means of supporting economic development in occupied Palestinian territory, and at the same time give a significant boost to Palestine’s agricultural sector and to farmers’ businesses.
Alongside the introduction of additional trade preferences, the EU will be offering a technical trade assistance programme. In fact, this assistance has already started in the areas of health and plant health, and will continue according to the Palestinians’ future needs and requests."@en1
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