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Parliamentary question - E-001203/2018(ASW)Parliamentary question
E-001203/2018(ASW)

Answer given by Vice-President Mogherini on behalf of the Commission

The European Union (EU) considers that Israeli settlements in territories occupied by Israel since 1967 are illegal under international law, which constitutes an obstacle to peace and threatens a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Products produced in the Israeli settlements located within the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 are not entitled to benefit from preferential custom tariff treatment under the EU-Israel Association Agreement. In practice, when the proof of origin indicates that the production conferring originating status has taken place in a location within the territories brought under Israeli administration since June 1967, those goods do not benefit from trade preferences when imported into the EU.

This is ensured through a ‘Technical arrangement’ between the EU and Israel, which identifies Israeli settlements by means of postal codes. EU Member States' customs authorities check whether the postal codes appearing on Israeli proofs of origin correspond to any of the postal codes appearing on the list of non-eligible locations made available to them by the European Commission. The list of non-eligible locations is publicly available on the European Commission's website[1]. As regards relevant elements for detecting fraud, the Member States customs authorities may conduct their verifications of proofs of origin based on reasonable doubts (Article 33 of Protocol 4 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement). In that context, the risk analysis is guided by common elements[2] and remains mainly of the responsibility of each Member States' authority.

Specific data concerning goods imported to the EU from Israeli settlements have not yet been collected.

Last updated: 14 June 2018
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