EU ‘close to finalizing work’ on labeling settlement products
Luxembourg foreign minister says he hopes the European Union will make a decision by end of year
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said Saturday that the union will soon finalize its decision on how to label products manufactured in Jewish settlements beyond the Green Line, Hebrew paper Haaretz reported Saturday.
Speaking at a meeting of European foreign ministers where the dominating subject on the agenda was the recent migrant crisis in Europe, Mogherini said the 28-nation bloc still had some work to do on the issue of labeling West Bank settlement products.
In April, 16 foreign ministers wrote a joint letter to Mogherini where they asked her to push forward a process on labeling settlements products.
Among the signatories to the letter were the foreign ministers of Italy, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Holland, Hungary, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, Finland, France and Sweden.
Specific labeling of exports such as food and flowers would give shoppers the choice of whether to purchase the product, supporters of the labeling argue. Currently all such products bear the label “Made in Israel.”
“We have to make sure that consumers can distinguish products that come from territories occupied by Israel,” Jean Asselborn, the foreign minister of Luxembourg said. Luxembourg currently holds the six-month presidency of the EU.
“We are just applying international rules,” he said, adding that he expected a solution by the end of 2015.
The issue of labeling settlement products has been on the agenda for the past several years in the EU. Opponents of the legislation believe it will not be conducive to restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
In Israel, opinions are divided on whether labeling products will slow Israeli economic growth or have a negligible effect.
The Times of Israel Community.