Israel’s concern over developments in the European Economic Community (EEC) were expressed by Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan in meetings with EEC foreign ministers here over the weekend, prior to his talks with Egyptian Premier Mustapha Khalil and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.
Israel is worried about the pending entry into the EEC of Spain, Portugal and Greece which export many of the same products that Israel sells. As full members, they will enjoy the same tariff benefits as Israel and could offer stiff and possibly unfair competition. Last year, Israel’s trade deficit with the EEC member states amounted to $1 billion and it is feared that the new competition would further reduce Israel’s exports. Moreover, Spain and Greece do not have full diplomatic relations with Israel but would participate in the formulation of EEC policy on the Middle East.
Dayan met here with the outgoing chairman of the EEC, West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. He promised Dayan that the EEC authorities would meet with Israeli experts to try to solve these difficulties and that the member-states would do “their best” to convince Spain and Greece to establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel. (By Edwin Eytan)
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.
