EU wants Israel in its Wider Europe scheme

[Gimel]

LONDON - The European Commission announced yesterday that it intends to incorporate Israel into its Wider Europe scheme, which may give it a status close to that of European Union states, especially on commercial and economic issues.


EU representatives who met with a Foreign Ministry delegation in Brussels yesterday, as part of the annual meeting of the Israeli-EU Association Agreement Committee, said that unlike in the past, EU-Israeli relations will no longer be conditional on the progress of
the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
<snip>
A large part of the talks focused on energy and the environment, and the Europeans asked Israel to finish ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on
environmental protection. They stressed that a positive answer from Israel would considerably improve Israel's status in the EU. If Israel
ratifies the agreement, this would bring the number of ratifying states up to the minimum required to bring it into effect despite the
United States' objections.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=316408&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y

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A couple of interesting statements here. An attempt to circumvent US opposition to the Kyoto Protocol on environmental protection is one of them.