Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-10-23-Speech-2-259-000"
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"en.20121023.17.2-259-000"2
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"Madam President, I would like to thank you and my colleagues for the opportunity to say a few words regarding the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance, the so-called ACAA between Israel and the EU, which is a fiercely debated issue.
Let me start by recalling what an ACAA is about. Its objective is to eliminate barriers to trade, by allowing products covered by the agreement to enter the markets of the parties without additional conformity assessment procedures. So we are basically talking about mutual recognition of conformity assessment and inspection, results which will reduce costs and time for economic operators.
ACAA is a Protocol to the EU-Israel Association Agreement and its scope of application is therefore the same as set out in Article 83 of the Association Agreement. As follows from the international obligations of the EU and as confirmed by the European Court of Justice in the Brita case, the EU does not recognise Israeli jurisdiction over the territories placed under Israeli administration after 1967. Rest assured that the Commission will observe this position in the implementation of the ACAA.
As you know, when the agreement enters into force, the Commission will have to acknowledge under Article 9 of the ACAA the responsible Israeli authority which will have to deliver conformity certificates. This acknowledgement will not entail any recognition of Israeli jurisdiction over territories placed under Israeli administration after 1967. You can also rest assured that, upon receipt of the Israeli notification of its Responsible Authority, the Commission will expressly state that acknowledgement is granted only on the basis that the territory covered by the Responsible Authority does not include the territories brought under Israeli administration in 1967.
In the light of this, Palestinian products cannot be discriminated against in the certification process in Israel because Israel will have to apply the EU acquis. Like any EU Member State, Israel must carry out inspections irrespective of the origin of the product, when a request is received. If there were to be cases of discrimination, the Palestinian manufacturer could lodge a complaint with the Israeli judicial authorities. Of course, the Commission could also use existing means under the Association Agreement to ensure that Israel implements the ACAA.
There could be a link between the certification process and the origin of the products in a situation where the Israeli Responsible Authority goes into the Occupied Territories in order to certify products made in the settlements. And we need to be aware of this.
I would also like to react to recent concerns about Parliament’s role in the context of procedures to amend this ACAA, including by adding annexes for other industrial products in future. The matter seems to be in line with the Lisbon Treaty. Moreover, the Commission will also abide by its obligations under the Framework Agreement to keep Parliament fully informed before approving modifications to an agreement under Article 218(7) of the Lisbon Treaty.
Lastly, we have other ACAAs in the pipeline with other countries where we would expect to face similar, though not identical, concerns. Our experience with the present consent procedure will serve as a useful guide."@en1
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