Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-02-Speech-4-032"
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"en.20000302.3.4-032"2
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"Mr President, one of the most important goals of the European Union’s Mediterranean policy is to make a positive contribution to the peace process between Israel and the Arab states, and in particular between Israel and the authorities of the Palestinian autonomous area, and to give this process our energetic support, wherever possible. In economic terms, this means that according to the existing agreement, Europe’s markets are open to products from Israel and from the Palestinians’ autonomous area. Furthermore, exports from the territory of the State of Israel and the current Palestinian territories to the European Union receive preferential treatment from the European Union.
Provision has not yet been made in the strictly legal sense for preferential arrangements of this kind to be enjoyed by occupied areas which have yet to be assigned definitively to the national territory of one country or the other, under the terms of the peace process and a new border settlement, and these arrangements have yet to be specified in detail. We agree with the Commission on this. Therefore, it would make good sense now for Israel to guarantee the legally irreproachable application of this concrete preferential arrangement on its national territory, and for the Palestinians to do the same in respect of their interim territory. However, we are also in favour of allowing the direct representatives of these occupied territories enough time to reach a negotiated settlement, which is something you mentioned Commissioner.
Ultimately, all producers, be they Israeli or Palestinian, should be afforded easier access to the European Union market once the territorial issues have been conclusively resolved, which will come step-by-step with the construction of a future Palestinian state. Therefore, the European Union should help to move the process on, and not behave in such a way as to exacerbate the situation, i.e. by apportioning blame to one party, which achieves nothing. And so, on behalf of the vast majority of the PPE-DE Group, I urge Israel, the Palestinians – and President Arafat’s stance is an encouraging sign in this respect – and the Commission, to step up the direct exploratory talks, so as to settle this as yet unresolved trade issue between the European Union, on the one hand, and Israel and the Palestinian autonomous authorities, on the other.
Therefore, with your permission, I would like to encourage the Commission – Mr Vitorino and Mr Lamy – to continue to support the peace process by taking a discreet but cooperation-orientated line, supporting the legitimate interests of Palestinian producers – as Parliament has done for ten years now – and, at the same time, building on our close trade ties with Israel and its producers."@en1
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