The European Union has declared that Israel should be granted a “privileged status” in its relations with the organization’s member states.
Meeting here this week for a summit conference, the leaders of the E.U.’s 12 member states said Israel should be given the new status “because of its high level of economic development.”
The decision “will profit the general economic development of the Middle East,” the E.U. said in a statement.
Israel and the E.U. are currently negotiating the specifics of a final accord that will enable the Jewish state to be associated with the E.U.’s research and development programs. The negotiations, which began in January, are expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The new accord will complement a separate trade and cooperation pact that Israel and the E.U. are currently negotiating in order to update a 1975 agreement between Israel and what was then known as the Common Market.
In recent years, Israel has tried to elevate its trading status to gain better access to the European market. Israel is currently suffering a $5 billion trade deficit with the E.U., which is its main trading partner.
The E.U.’s 12 member nations decided to strengthen their relations with Israel after it signed the Palestinian self-rule accord in Washington last year.
In their joint statement this week, the 12 E.U. heads of state pledged a “substantial economic contribution” to support the Middle East peace process.
The E.U. leaders also endorsed a new southern policy that envisages the creation of a free-trade zone among countries throughout the Mediterranean basin, including Israel.
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