On 16 July 2013, the European Union (EU) announced its adoption of a Commission Notice providing guidelines “on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes, and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards” (guidelines).
As members of the Palestinian Human Rights Organisations Council (PHROC), we welcome these guidelines, which enforce the longstanding position of the international community, including that of the EU, that Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are illegal under international law. Moreover, the guidelines ensure that EU member states comply with their legal obligation not to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory and to ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions. In addition, the guidelines implement the 10 December 2012 position agreed upon by all Foreign Ministers of the EU that “all agreements between the State of Israel and the EU must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967”[1].
PHROC commends moves by EU member states to adhere to their legal obligations and to positions adopted by the EU itself and hopes that these guidelines will be fully implemented. If fully implemented, the guidelines will demonstrate the EU’s ability to move from words to action and to comply with its own commitment to put international law at the forefront of its foreign relations.
In light of the above, PHROC looks forward to the official publication of the guidelines, and more importantly, welcomes their full and transparent implementation.