The council of ministers of the European Union has approved, in principle, a new trade accord with Israel.
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, the current head of the council of ministers, informed Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of the decision in a phone call this week.
Kinkel said the agreement would be signed in a matter of weeks.
The agreement, which came after a long period of negotiations, will broaden Israel’s ties with the E.U. It updates a 1975 trade agreement between Israel and the former 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.
At a summit conference last week of the leaders of the E.U.’s 12 member countries, the organization declared that Israel should be granted a “privileged status” in its relations with the organization’s member states.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
