BICOM

Israeli officials say that the long-anticipated European Union (EU) guidelines recommending the separate labelling of consumer goods produced in the West Bank, are likely to be published within the coming days.

Haaretz says that 11 November appears a likely day for publication, while the Jerusalem Post quotes an anonymous Israeli diplomat who predicts publication “within days.” West Bank goods are already explicitly labelled separately from other Israeli goods for the benefit of EU customs officials, in order that they do not benefit from the free trade agreement between the EU and Israel. The impending guidelines would apply this to consumer labelling too.

The process for doing so was begun in 2013, but gathered pace since April when 16 of the EU’s 28 foreign ministers, including Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond, co-signed a letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urging that she advance such guidelines. In their letter, the foreign ministers said that labelling guidelines would be “an important step in the full implementation of EU longstanding policy,” which constitutes that settlements in “territories occupied by Israel since 1967, threatens the prospect of a just and final peace agreement.”

However, a senior Israeli official is widely quoted in the domestic media this morning expressing deep concerns that, “The European guidelines for labelling goods from the settlements are a prize for terror and Palestinian refusal” and “In addition, they encourage an atmosphere of boycott against Israel.”

All reports emphasise that the precise wording of the guidelines remains entirely unclear. Haaretz and Maariv report that European Commission officials have deliberately ensured that the document’s contents remains a closely guarded secret. Consequently, Israeli officials cannot assess whether the guidelines comprise vague recommendations or binding instructions.

Several reports say that Mogherini already once postponed the publication of the guidelines given the recent wave of violence in the region. Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly recently spoken to Prime Minister David Cameron and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel about the issue.