Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Leading EU countries to stigmatise Israeli settler goods

  • Dutch shoppers - Timmermans' arrival has seen the Netherlands switch sides (Photo: zoetnet)

France and the Netherlands have joined an initiative by 13 EU states to help European consumers boycott goods made by Israeli settlers on Palestinian land.

Foreign ministers from the group - which also includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the UK - put forward their ideas in a letter to EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton on 11 April.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The text - seen by EUobserver - says they "welcome [Ashton's] commitment to work with fellow [EU] commissioners to prepare EU-wide guidelines on the labelling of settlement produce."

It notes that: "the correct labelling of products is necessary to ensure our consumers are not being misled by false information."

In a sign the letter is more than just rhetoric, the ministers pledged "effective implementation" of existing EU laws and promised to "circulate" Ashton's previous appeal on labelling "to our [other] ministries and enforcement bodies."

Ashton in an internal memo on 22 February urged all EU countries to undertake "full and effective enforcement of EU labelling legislation in the case of Israel."

The EU legislation stems from various directives on trade and retail dating back more than 12 years.

Ashton's officials and the European Commission are preparing a non-binding EU code of conduct on how to apply the rules.

They showed a first draft to member states' diplomats on 17 January.

EU officials earlier told EUobserver that a code on settler-produced food will be ready in mid-2013. They said a code covering all exports, including wine and cosmetics, could take much longer, however.

Denmark and the UK already have labelling regimes.

Most of the other countries in the group-of-13 are also known for taking a tough line on Israel. But action by France and the Netherlands is a new development.

The Netherlands used to be Israel's firm ally in Brussels. But The Hague switched sides after the arrival of Israeli-critical foreign minister Frans Timmermans in a new coalition government last November.

Meanwhile, former French and Dutch VIPs last week signed a separate letter to Ashton complaining about "stagnation" in the peace process.

They said Israel's support for settlers indicates "a permanent trend towards a complete dislocation of Palestinian territorial rights."

They called for "a clear and concerted effort to counter the erasing of the 1967 lines" and said "later generations will see it as unforgivable that we Europeans … took no action to remedy the continuing destruction of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination."

The signatories include former French PM Lionel Jospin and former Dutch leader Andreas Van Agt.

They also include two of Ashton's EU predecessors - Javier Solana and Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

For their part, Israeli diplomats say EU attention on settlers misses the point - that the real obstacles to peace are Palestine's refusal to negotiate and rocket fire from Gaza.

They accuse EU institutions of singling out Israel, while letting exporters from other disputed territories, such as Tibet, off the hook.

They also say that EU-Israeli relations are much stronger than isolated statements might indicate.

Israeli President Simon Peres got the red carpet treatment in Brussels, Paris and Strasbourg last month.

Israel on Sunday (21 April) also ratified an aviation deal - called Open Skies - on lifting restrictions on European airline flights to Israeli cities.

Put Hezbollah on EU terror list, Israeli President says

Israeli President Shimon Peres has urged the EU to put Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organisations, claiming that failure to do so would be an indication that the EU was prepared to tolerate its actions.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us