Gary Gannon
Question:4. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on Irish-Israeli trade relations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51394/23]
View answerThursday, 23 November 2023
Questions (4)
Written answers
Ireland’s trade relations with Israel are governed by a Free Trade Agreement as part of an overarching EU-Israel Association Agreement, which came into force in June 2000. The Association Agreement aims to provide an appropriate legal and institutional framework for political dialogue and economic cooperation between the EU and Israel.
It is important to note that the Free Trade Agreement does not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied territories, namely the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This position was confirmed in an EU ‘Interpretive Notice’ in 2015. Products requiring origin labelling which are produced in Israeli settlements, may not carry the indication ‘product of Israel’, as settlements do not form part of Israeli territory according to international law, and therefore those products do not receive preferential treatment under the EU-Israel Free Trade Agreement when exported to the EU.
In the context of EU–Israel trade, Israel is among the EU’s main trading partners in the Mediterranean area. In respect of bilateral trade between Ireland–Israel, two-way trade in goods amounted to €5.8bn in 2022 with a majority of that two-way trade arising from trade in electrical machinery and appliances.
The overarching Agreement with Israel, established the EU-Israel Association Council as the appropriate forum for raising all matters of mutual interest, including disputes between the EU and Israel. At the Association Council in October 2022, the EU restated its position that all agreements between the State of Israel and the EU do not apply to territory occupied by Israel in 1967. Any action to suspend elements of the Association Agreement would require the support of a qualified majority of EU Member States. Member States cannot act unilaterally in this regard.
The only thing that will end the suffering in Gaza is a ceasefire and that is the focus of our efforts. Last week the Tánaiste visited Egypt, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. In his meeting with his Israeli counterpart, he expressed grave concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and reiterated calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Furthermore, it is my view that any process undertaken which seeks to suspend or upend the application of the EU-Israel Trade Agreement would only serve to undermine EU and Irish government efforts to broker a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Therefore, our focus at this moment in time, working in the UN, the EU and directly with Israel is to support an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, and a significant scaling up of humanitarian access and supplies to get vital aid to civilians.
Questions Nos. 5 and 6 answered orally.