De Israelische Terreur 824

'Israeli settlement produce may be enjoying EU privileges
David Cronin, The Electronic Intifada, 6 April 2009

BRUSSELS (IPS) - European Union officials are seeking evidence to support claims that fruit and vegetables from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories are being exported under false pretense.

In a note circulated to its fellow EU governments in late 2008, Britain expressed concern that goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank may be entering the Union without paying the legally required duties.

Under an "association agreement" which came into force in 2000, goods from Israel itself may be exported to the EU without being charged any customs fees or tariffs. Yet this privilege does not apply to produce from settlements in territories which Israel seized in 1967, as the Union does not recognize these as part of Israel. The settlements are illegal, too, under international law; the 1949 Geneva Convention forbids an occupying power from moving part of its own civilian population into the territory it has taken hold of.

Britain stated that its customs authorities are investigating allegations that the EU-Israel accord was being violated and that it would transmit the results of its probe to the European Commission in Brussels.

Six months later, though, the Commission says that it has still not received the information promised to it from London. This is despite how EU officials have learned informally that the British authorities found evidence that at least two out of 26 companies they studied between July and September last year were benefiting illegally from the duty-free arrangements.

"For us to be able to do anything we need this information to be transmitted to us officially," said a Commission source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

But a spokesperson for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (in Britain) said: "I'm not aware that we're due to give any information to Europe." According to the spokesperson, enforcing the rules relating to trade between the EU and Israel or the Palestinian territories is a matter for the customs authorities, which can impose fines if irregularities are detected. A follow-on investigation covering the first few months of this year -- the season when most of the related exports occur -- is being carried out, he added.'
Lees verder: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10452.shtml