Israel first ENP partner able to participate in various EU programs

Original article: www.ejpress.org/article/26256

3 Updated: 16/Apr/2008 16:07

BRUSSELS (EJP)---Israel signed Tuesday an agreement with the European Union which gives Israeli bodies and organizations the ability to participate in various programs proposed by the EU.
The protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement was signed by Israel’s ambassador to the EU, Ran Curiel, and Igor Sencar, Slovenia’s ambassador to the EU whose countries currently chairs the union.

Israel is the first country among all the partners of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) to sign the agreement, a new step forward in Israel’s efforts to upgrade its relations with the European Union.

The ENP covers 16 EU’s eastern and southern neighbours, including Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia from the one side and Israel, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and the Palestinian Territories from the other side.

The programs concerned by the agreement cover various fields: environment, customs, academy, energy, competition, innovation, culture and Youth Programs.

Israel was the first non-EU country that took part in the European Framework Program for Research and Technological Development, and in the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Program, as well as one of the first participants in the Galileo project, the Global Navigation Satellite System of the EU, and in the European Space Agency.

The European Commission recently described Israel as the "front-runner" among non-EU members participating in EU programs.

A “reflection group” is considering areas where EU-Israel relations can be substantially upgraded to a "special status.”

The EU is Israel’s main trade partner, with imports representing 38 % and exports 33 %. Data for the first quarter of 2007 show an increase respectively of 7.2 and 3.0 % compared to the same period of 2006.

The EU and Israel signed in 1995 an Association Agreement which came into force in 2005. In addition to the political dialogue, the agreement covers areas such as industry, energy, standards, financial services, information infrastructures and telecommunications, transport and tourism.

The EU-Israel Association Council meets annually at ministerial level.