Euromart Countries Unwilling to Respond to Israeli Demands

The head of the European Economic Community delegation to the EEC-Israel joint committee said here today that the EEC was willing to accept a reduction of 20 percent in European Common Market customs on Israeli grapefruit segments but declined to respond to a large number of Israeli complaints on other aspects of its Euromart trade.

The joint committee was set up in the agreement under which Israel received some limited concessions on its booming trade with the six Euromart countries but these fell far short of Israeli hopes. The Israelis had sought an associate membership in the EEC.

The meeting today was the second since the committee was organized to deal on a limited scale with Israeli complaints. The EEC members include nine representatives of the EEC executive commission and 21 representatives of the six Euromart countries. It is headed by Axel Herbst, general director of the EEC Commission foreign department. The Israeli delegation is headed by Ambassador Amiel Najar.

Ambassador Najar recalled various points discussed at the first meeting of the joint commission, including problems of Israel’s citrus exports, one of its principal exports to Euromart, other farm products, products for which Israel supplies final processing and the general question of reciprocal trade arrangements. It was at this point that M. Herbst offered the reduction on Israel’s grapefruit segment exports but gave no positive reply on the other points raised by Mr. Najar.

The Israeli envoy noted that the powers of the joint committee were limited, excluding consideration of such a major question as associate membership for Israel, but he stressed that Israel has repeatedly expressed its desire for associate membership, He also said that if general and permanent peace was created in the Mediterranean area, it would have to be equitable in respect to EEC treatment of all Mediterranean countries selling oranges to the European Common Market.