The European Parliament, consisting of 142 parliamentary members of a number of European countries, approved here today a resolution hailing the trade pact between Israel and the European Economic Community and urged that the EEC take further steps to protect Israeli exports which were excluded from the agreement.
The resolution proposed that the agreement be considered “a first step in commercial and economic relations” between the six-nation Euromart and Israel and it noted “that nothing yet has been decided about certain problems which are of fundamental interest to Israel. ” The resolution labeled as “imperative” that any future agreements “with other third country exporters of oranges do not include, in the matter of importing of oranges by the EEC, any discriminatory ruling with regard to Israel.”
Some members of the Parliament, in discussion preceding adoption of the resolution, called for admission of Israel into the Euromart as an associate but the resolution did not go that far. It referred to the mixed committee set up under the pact to implement the agreement and hear any Israeli complaints and it urged that the mixed committee also be given authority to formulate proposals “with a view to extending its fields of implementation” and to suggest “efficient formulas to solve pending questions.”
The Parliament met in plenary session to discuss a report by P.A. Blaisse, president of the EEC external trade commission, in which he stressed the political importance of the EEC-Israel agreement despite “its modern contents. ” The agreement presides tariff concessions on a number of Israeli exports to Euromart.
Like other speakers, he described the pact as only a beginning, a first step in EEC-Israel relations, and he added that it was necessary for Israel to continue to develop exports of its oranges to the Euromart countries. The pact does not include tariff concessions on oranges.
SPEAKERS CRITICIZE KHRUSHCHEV’S ANTI-ISRAEL STAND
Two of the speakers touched on the political aspects of Israel’s relationship with the EEC. Louis Terrennoire, a close associate of French President Charles de Gaulle and a former French Cabinet member, severely criticized Soviet Premier Khrushchev for his anti-Israel declarations in Cairo this week. He called for European support for Israel “at this difficult hour in her history.”
The Gaullist leader also cited the charge of “imperialism” made against Israel and that he was therefore happy about the “political value” of the EEC-Israel agreement. He said also that while he was disappointed by the “poor contents” of the agreement, he considered it a first step which would lead to a wider agreement.
A. Von der Groeben, replying on behalf of the EEC, said that the EEC felt that, while the pact did not meet all of Israel’s hopes, it was a first and important step in that an agreement had been reached with the EEC and that a mixed committee had been established to review any Israeli complaints growing out of application of the pact.
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.
