Letter from Bill Rammell MP, Minister
of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to the Chairman of
the Committee
Following my appearance at the Foreign Affairs
Committee on 4 March, the committee have requested an update on
issues that were not covered during the evidence session, which
I address below.
1. THE STATE
OF UK-ISRAEL
POLITICAL RELATIONS
The UK and Israel are close allies; the UK is
a friend of Israel. We look forward to a positive, productive
relationship with the new Israeli government and shall continue
to work towards a lasting peace in the region. We welcome the
recent Israeli statement on the need for immediate progress towards
a comprehensive peace.
We urge the new Israeli government to abide by Israel's
previous undertakings, including at Annapolis, and to freeze expansion
of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
(OPTs), including so-called natural growth of existing settlements
and settlements in East Jerusalem. We also call on Israel to halt
house demolitions and evictions in the OPTs. The Foreign Secretary
reiterated this in his intervention at the UN Security Council
on 11 May
2. GOVERNMENT
ACTION ON
LABELLING OF
PRODUCE
Regarding the issue of labelling of produce
from Green Line Israel, the EU/Israel Association Agreement allows
export of produce originating in the "State of Israel"
to be imported into the EU at reduced or nil preferential rates
of customs duty. The government supports this agreement. Following
various Security Council Resolutions and the position taken by
the EU, the OPTs held by Israel are not considered part of the
territory of Israel. Products originating in the OPTs are therefore
NOT products originating in the "State of Israel.
The Cabinet Office held a roundtable on the issue
of produce from illegal Israeli settlements at the end of March
to bring together retailers, Government departments and other
interested parties. The meeting discussed how changes to labelling
practices can provide consumers with improved clarity about the
origin of products from the OPTs. Following this meeting, DEFRA
are considering the next phase of the consultations before finalising
voluntary guidance on labelling best practice, to comply with
EC and WTO obligations and assist retailers in providing consumers
with increased information on product origin.
3. IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE
EU INTERIM ASSOCIATION
AGREEMENT WITH
THE PALESTINIAN
LIBERATION ORGANISATION
(PLO)
The European Council welcomes the deepening
of relations between the EU and the Palestinian Authority, the
recent political dialogue held at ministerial level between the
EU and the Palestinian Authority, and the setting-up of four specialised
subcommittees tasked with following up the bilateral Action Plan.
These developments demonstrate both parties' commitment
to exploring various avenues towards achieving deeper and broader
bilateral relations in the light of joint efforts towards creating
a Palestinian State. That stronger partnership will take into
account the full range of resources and instruments of the European
Neighbourhood Policy, in particular more frequent meetings and
exchanges at all levels, including the possibility of organising
a summit.
The UK continues to call, both unilaterally
and through the EU, on the Israeli government to fully recognise,
and facilitate the implementation of, the EU-PLO Interim Association
Agreement.
4. IMPACT OF
THE CONFLICT
IN GAZA
ON THE
EU'S NEW
UNION FOR
THE MEDITERRANEAN
Progress on the Union for the Mediterranean
(UMed) following the Paris and the Marseille summits has been
limited due to the two suspensions of UMed meetings at the Arab
Group's insistence. The first suspension was in support of the
inclusion of the Arab League, the second and ongoing suspension
is over the Gaza conflict of December and January. The suspension
of meetings has prevented much of the detail around governance
and funding, especially the planned Secretariat, being fully defined
and discussed.
19 May 2009
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