Speech by EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner - Israel-EU relations: fulfilling the potential

Summary: Speech by EU Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner - Israel-EU relations: fulfilling the potential (10 November 2005: Tel Aviv)

Speech by Dr Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood policy, Prime Minister's Conference for Export and International Cooperation, Tel Aviv

Israel - European Union relations: fulfilling the potential

Prime Minister Sharon,
Your Excellencies,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

First let me thank the Israeli Export and International Cooperation Institute and the Manufacturer's Association of Israel for this invitation.

The European Union is Israel's biggest trading partner - approximately 40% of your imports come from us, and about 30% of your exports come to us. So I am delighted to have this opportunity to participate in the Prime Minister's Conference, Israel's leading economic venue bringing together economic leaders and business people from all over the world.

It is also an important political moment to visit Israel. There are many promising opportunities opening up across the region. But it is clear that Israel also faces threats. I want to take this opportunity to join with other speakers in professing the European Union's unequivocal support for the State of Israel, and utterly condemning last month's shocking statement from President Ahmadi Nejad. Iran's attitude to the State of Israel is completely unacceptable.

For the EU, Israel is an important partner and ally, and we are focused on further improving and developing the potential of our relations. Your invitation to both myself, on behalf of the European Commission, and Gordon Brown, on behalf of the EU Presidency, is symbolic of our shared desire to move closer together. It recognises the upturn in EU-Israeli relations over the last year or so. And that our relations are moving from strength to strength. I see today's conference as part of a pattern of signals we send to each other that we are committed to deepening our relations and to furthering mutual understanding.

When I first visited Israel in my current capacity as European Commissioner, I likened the change in our relations to a fresh breeze. Israel and Europe are natural partners - we share the same values of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law and basic freedoms. And we have much in common - our cultural and historical ties, but also our everyday personal contacts.

So the natural state of our relations should be good. That has not always been the case, so we should not take each other for granted. Rather we must both work hard for progress on the issues which threaten to overshadow our relations, and to make sure that the fresh breeze continues to blow.

There's enormous untapped potential in our relations, on the economic side, but also across the whole spectrum of our relations. Fortunately, we now have the political will and the practical means to exploit this potential. Nearly one year ago, on 13 December, Israel became the first country to agree a European Neighbourhood Action Plan with the EU. The Action Plan gives our relations a new lease of life by laying out a wide range of areas in which we want to work more closely together.

Israel's place in the avant garde of the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is a powerful signal of how important our relationship is to us both. ENP is a new departure for the EU. It is a policy designed to bring neighbouring countries interested in deeper relations with the EU closer to us. And to promote an area of stability, prosperity, and security for us all.

The EU offers neighbouring countries the opportunity to deepen their political cooperation and their economic integration with us - through inclusion in internal EU programmes and access to the biggest Single Market in the world - in return for working together on issues of mutual concern. Since Israel signed the first Action Plan with the EU we have signed Action Plans with six other partners (Jordan, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Tunisia and Ukraine) and five more are in preparation (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia and Lebanon).

Action Plans are the European Neighbourhood Policy's principal tool. Each Action Plan is specifically tailored to the country concerned, so that Israel's Action Plan with the EU responds to the particular dynamics of EU-Israel relations. It sets out our mutually agreed vision for our relationship, and detailed commitments for us both for a three year period, to achieve Israel's closer integration with the EU.

Israel's Action Plan covers a wide range of areas. On the political side, the EU and Israel have committed themselves to working together in the battle against anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia and in protecting human rights and minorities. For example we will work together on educating our peoples about the importance of tolerance and respect for all ethnic and religious groups. The events of the past year have only served to underline how vitally important this is.

We will also strengthen our cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. EUROPOL already includes Israel as an observer and will shortly begin negotiations to reach an agreement on a more enhanced level of cooperation.

The plan also covers a number of other areas, including migration, the fight against organised crime and trafficking in human beings. The EU and Israel will enhance links in the spheres of transport, energy, information society, and the environment. Israel is already integrated into key EU projects such as the GALILEO initiative for producing a satellite navigation system, and participates in EU programmes like our Research and Development programme. Thanks to ENP Israelis will be able to join our other programmes, ranging from the cultural to the public health spheres.

ENP is not only about activities for governments and institutions, it is also about people. So the EU-Israel Action Plan targets ways of bringing together our communities, our youth, our students, and civil society.

We want to create a "European Higher Education and Vocational Training Area" to coordinate our systems of study credits and facilitate more student exchanges. We will encourage exchanges of young professionals between Israeli and European bodies, and youth exchanges more generally. And we have already planned a Business Dialogue to take place in the first half of 2006.

An important part of the EU-Israel Action Plan concerns economic integration- which brings me back to the subject of today's conference. Israel is probably in the best position of all the EU's neighbours to benefit from the economic opportunities offered by ENP. Your economy is well-suited to an advanced level of integration with our own, so the prospect of a stake in the EU's single market is not so remote.

In addition, the Action Plan envisages us eventually creating a free-trade zone for services, particularly financial services, thus enabling Israeli firms to compete with ours in areas that were previously closed to you.

That said, much must be done before the possibility becomes a reality. There are many technical issues which must first be resolved, such as harmonising standards and norms. But we have already begun work - since December EU and Israeli officials have met each other on a regular basis to exchange views and discuss cooperation in areas such as consumer protection, standards and conformity assessment, food safety and public procurement. And we have agreed Israel's inclusion in the pan-Mediterranean system of cumulation of rules of origin, which is key for forging trade and investment links with Israel's neighbours.

Increased economic integration between the EU and Israel cannot be pursued without greater economic cooperation with others. Indeed, in today's globalised world, it is virtually impossible for economies to exist in isolation from one another. That is especially true when it comes to the Israeli and Palestine economies. So for Israel and the EU to reap maximum benefit from the economic possibilities of ENP, there has also to be an improvement in the Palestine economy.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Prime Minister Sharon and the Israeli people as a whole for their courageous decision to disengage from the Gaza strip and four West Bank settlements. The EU recognises that this was by no means an easy move to make. But it was the right one. Not only has it withdrawn from areas which were illegally occupied under international law, Israel has also acted in its own long term interests by making a move towards peace and thereby increasing its own security and prosperity.

Of course it takes two to tango, and the Palestinian Authority must live up to its commitments to ensure security within its own territory, and clamp down on terrorist actions. The EU unreservedly condemns all acts of terrorism. Terrorist actions do nothing to further the prospects of peace or to hasten a two-state solution to the conflict.

But the EU hopes that the success of disengagement, and the positive results it has brought in a wider sense, such as Israel's heightened standing in the international community and its new relations with some Muslim states, will encourage it to go further. Certainly, in order to reap the full benefits of disengagement, there must be moves to maintain the momentum and show that the Road Map is back on track.

To make the disengagement from Gaza meaningful for the Palestinians, there must be progress on issues like freedom of movement, borders, trade facilitation. Without that, Palestinians will not see tangible improvements in their living conditions. And without tangible improvements in their living conditions, it will be very hard to convince them that there is a dividend to be earned from peace.

A viable economy in Gaza operating under normal conditions and leading to a higher level of prosperity for ordinary Palestinians is the best possible guarantee of Israel's security.

We just heard from Jim Wolfensohn about the excellent work he is doing on behalf of the Quartet. The European Commission has just issued a Communication on EU-Palestinian cooperation in response to his request for support from Quartet members. The Communication looks beyond disengagement and focuses on efforts to support the economic and political viability of a Palestinian State.

Political viability requires support to reinforce legitimacy and accountability of administrative structures; to strengthen the rule of law and fundamental freedoms; and to improve overall security.

Economic viability requires developing trade relations; building up a customs administration; reconstructing and rehabilitating the West Bank and Gaza Strip; creating the enabling environment for private sector development; and improving the management of public finances. Improving border management by Palestinians and Egyptians will also be key.

The EU proposes a substantial global €280 million package. We are ready to increase the level of our assistance, but only on condition of progress on the recommendations Jim Wolfensohn has set out. We cannot go anywhere without greater freedom of movement for goods and people, simplified customs agreements and links between the West Bank and Gaza. To think otherwise is simply an illusion.

There have been some positive developments. We have used the ENP Action Plans signed with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to facilitate practical initiatives on issues such as trade, energy and transport. And we have provided technical assistance and supported the establishment of joint Israel-Palestinian offices to further coordination and planning of shared energy and transport systems.

This is a positive start, but only a start.

For real progress to be made, tough political decisions have to be taken. Some are for the Palestinian Authority, and I do not wish to downplay the role they must play in bringing us all back to the road map. But in front of this audience I want to address a message to Israel. I speak as a friend and a supporter, one who wishes Israelis to live in the peace and security they deserve, and who hopes for an end to the occasional disagreements which cast a chill over the warm relations that should exist between us.

Israel must desist from expanding settlements. It must cease building the barrier outside the Green Line. And it must end the house demolitions.

All these actions are in Israel's own long term interests, and absolutely vital to a peaceful two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. True friends have a duty to speak the truth, and that is why I say to you today - those tough political decisions must be taken, and must be taken soon.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In two weeks time many of you here today will be reunited in Barcelona as we meet to celebrate 10 years of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, and to celebrate the historic, cultural and economic links between us. The Barcelona Process, as it is known, is an extremely important forum for bringing nations together, and is still the only regional forum bringing Israel and the Palestinian Authority together.

Israel has been an active participant in the Barcelona Process, and I know has been working hard to make the Summit a success. For me, that is another demonstration of the natural partnership between the EU and Israel, and the extent to which we think alike. There is enormous value to be gained from deepening our relations and working together more closely. I am delighted that, thanks to ENP, we can already see a qualitative difference in the relationship and our contacts are expanding to parts of government and society never reached before.

I hope that this process of drawing closer together will only accelerate in the years to come. Business is infallibly at the cutting edge of developing relations and so it is no surprise that you have taken the lead with this conference. Working together I hope we can consolidate the last year's achievements, both in our bilateral relations and in the region as a whole and move forward to an ever brighter future. I count on your support for the necessary political decisions. And rest assured, you may count on me as a loyal supporter and friend of Israel.

Ref: SP05-300EN
EU source: European Commission
UN forum:
Date: 10/11/2005

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