Israel’s hopes for a quick and comprehensive trade agreement with the six member nations of the European Common Market appeared dashed today after a short and inconclusive meeting marking the opening of the second round of Israel-Euromart talks.
Gunther Seliger, director-general for foreign affairs of the European Economic Community, opened the proceedings as head of the EEC delegation. He said that the EEC delegates had been empowered by the Council of Ministers, the supreme body of the EEC, to negotiate with Israel “a normal trade agreement.” This was understood to rule out Israel’s hopes for a “comprehensive settlement” with Euromart to which Israel sells more than 60 percent of its exports.
Following Dr. Seliger’s statement, The Israel delegates, headed by Israel Ambassador Amiel Najar, asked for a 30-minute recess during which they considered a group of proposals put forward by the EEC negotiations. At the end of the recess, the Israeli negotiators submitted a number of questions to the EEC delegates most of which, it was reported, were not resolved.
To end the impasse, the two delegations decided to appoint an ad hoc committee which will meet tomorrow morning to make further efforts to find a basis for agreement. The nature of the meeting today dampened Israel’s hopes for reaching an early agreement. It appeared evident that the negotiations would be lengthy and thorny because Israel, it was indicated, was not prepared at the present time to accept the proposals submitted by the EEC negotiators.
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