What we are about to discuss is really very simple: the respect, application and monitoring of the agreements subscribed to by the European Union, and compliance with the Treaties and international standards to which it adheres. It is very simple, but in this world the simplest things are very often the hardest things to achieve. The goal of my colleagues who joined me in tabling this question to the Commission is this: the correct application of the EC-Israel trade agreement, which – we not only have reason to believe but, together with several Member States, have concrete proof – is being blatantly violated by Israel. At the same time, we also have reason to believe that the Commission is failing to attend to one of its primary functions: guardianship of the Community Treaties. I refer to Article 38 of the territorial requirement which restricts the scope to the territory of the State of Israel and thus does not grant special customs arrangements for products coming from the territories which were occupied by Israeli armed forces in June 1967 and upon which, in breach of all the international rules, from the fourth Geneva Convention onwards, the different Israeli governments have built settlements, confiscating Palestinian land and water and installing their own people. This is not the first time that the Commission and Parliament have tackled this issue: I will only cite here the Commission’s report to the Council and Parliament, published in May 1998, which did not accept Israel’s refusal to apply the protocol of the rules of origin as laid down in Article 38. In spite of this, the Commission was not able to induce Israel to respect these agreements, and only gave vague responses to parliamentary questions, maintaining that it was difficult to obtain reliable proof of the provenance of products, although it has consistently, and quite rightly, made the legal obligations imposed by the agreement clear to Israel. In order to make it easier for the Commission and the Member States to get hold of reliable evidence, an Israeli peace movement published a list of companies established in the settlements, and a Palestinian NGO prepared and presented the customs services of the various Member States with unequivocal proof attesting to the State of origin of a range of products coming from the occupied territories and traded on domestic Community markets. I will mention but a few, which are produced in the Golan Heights and the occupied territories: wine and other products. This is a time of peace in Palestine and Israel: right now the credibility and observance of the legal effect of treaties and agreements is important if the European Union and Parliament want to play an active political role. Israel can be certain that Europe is in favour of its security and stability, but it cannot ask us to be party to such grave violations. The Palestinians know that the European Union is in favour of the consolidation of their State and their rights, but they have no proof of this. Peace cannot be founded on the violation of rights – Israelis such as the soldier Igal Moshe, who refused to go to the Lebanon four days ago and who is now in prison, are proof of this; Palestinians who still want peace, despite the fact that their houses have been levelled and that, 50 years on, they are still refugees, are proof of this; above all, respect for ourselves and for the democratic principles which we have laid down for ourselves demand it. Allow me to say, however, on a more practical level, that, for the same Member States and the Union, this also concerns the loss of economic resources taken from European citizens in violation of human and economic rights.

Political group: GUE-NGL