Sources say EU divided on Israel-Palestine statement

EU foreign ministers are trying to resolve last-minute differences over a statement on the Middle East peace process and Israeli settlements which some feel is too critical, officials and diplomatic sources say.

“Some countries have said they would like to see some changes. We will listen to them but it is obviously desirable that the council be able to approve the conclusions,” French state secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir said as he went into the foreign ministers’ meeting.

Desir, representing French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, says Greece and several other countries want changes to well-established EU positions.

The EU has held for many years that a final agreement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be based on a two-state solution, and that Israeli settlements are illegal and undermine peace efforts.

Reaffirming that position would not represent any new departure for the 28-nation EU, which believes the whole peace process is in jeopardy and needs to be revived as a matter of urgency.

Diplomatic sources tell AFP the problem arises from an EU decision last year to label goods as imported from Israeli settlements, rather than as “Made in Israel.”

Israel reacted sharply to a move it saw as hostile, smacking of a goods boycott, and suspended diplomatic contacts with the EU on the Middle East peace process which stalled in April 2014.

— AFP