An official of the European Community has denied an Israeli newspaper report that the body will reverse itself on its decision to impose sanctions against Israel.
“As far as I know, the elements which prompted the European Community to decide several measures of displeasure against Israel have not changed, so I don’t think that the E.C. position has been modified so far,” an E.C. official told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The official was responding to a report published last Friday in the daily newspaper Ma’ariv, which said the E.C. had notified Israel that all E.C. sanctions against it would be rescinded before the community’s foreign ministers meet in April with Israel’s foreign minister.
The meeting is an annual review of the cooperation between the 12 E.C. nations and Israel, as well as developments in the Middle East.
The European Parliament, the E.C.’s legislative body, voted in January to recommend freezing scientific cooperation with Israel, because of its alleged contempt for human rights in the administered territories and for closing Palestinian universities in the West Bank.
The European Commission, the E.C.’s executive body, followed suit by postponing the signing of an agreement on energy cooperation, during a visit by Israel’s Energy Minister Moshe Shahal here at the end of January.
The commission also delayed a visit to Israel by the European commissioner in charge of Mediterranean countries, Abel Matutes of Spain, and canceled scheduled talks on scientific cooperation with Israel.
According to a commission official who has participated in E.C.-Israel accords, “things have not changed substantially, so I don’t think that the Europeans are going to change their mind for the moment.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
