1. Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories received the following EU financial contributions under the Fifth and Seventh Framework Programmes for Research and Development and Technological Development (FP5, 1998‑2002; FP7, 2007‑13) for their participation in the projects mentioned below:
CELLAGE
EUR 49 000
SKIN TREAT
EUR 521 624
NANORETOX
EUR 302 189
NANOTHER
EUR 256 492
2. Israel has been associated to FP5 and FP7 through the agreements on scientific and technical cooperation signed on 10 July 2003(1) and on 16 July 2007(2). These international agreements, in conjunction with the relevant Council and European Parliament Regulations on the Rules for Participation in these Framework Programmes, stipulate that legal entities established in countries associated to these Framework Programmes may receive a financial contribution from these programmes for their participation in indirect research actions. Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories is an entity that is formally established within the borders of the internationally recognised State of Israel. The participation condition of being established in a certain territory does not oblige a beneficiary to carry out the funded research in the place of its establishment. Consequently, Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories were and are eligible for participation and funding under the above Framework Programmes. In granting EU research funds to this company, the Commission fulfilled the EU's legal obligations resulting from the above agreements and it complied with the abovementioned EU regulations.