Is Israel's "Extended European Holiday" about to end?

UPDATE:  WHAT'S IN THE WORKS, VERY SOON FOR EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY:

In the wake of the events in Tunisia and Egypt, EU leaders rushed to make declarations whose common denominator was the need for policy change. Beyond extending emergency humanitarian aid, EU leaders decided at a March 13 emergency session on a comprehensive review of existing cooperative and assistance programs with the region’s states. In the mid term, the EU intends to establish a new partnership with the nations of the southern Mediterranean called Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity. The foundation of the partnership consists of giving assistance and incentives to those states choosing to work towards political and economic reforms. The intention is to have concrete proposals formulated by April 2011, when a comprehensive examination of the ENP will take place. [1]


ORIGINAL POST:  Here's another one I wish Herb Peters were around to talk to about:

Quoting from it in relevant part, we read:
Partnership:  Israel adroitly entered the European orbit at the beginning of the Barcelona Process with an EU-Israel Association Agreement in 1995 "establishing a partnership which provides for close and mutually beneficial trade and investment relations together with economic, social, financial, civil scientific, technological and cultural cooperation." Within the framework of the 2004 European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU-Israel Action Plan went into effect in April 2005 and was extended again in June 2010 to "increase trade economic integration particularly with the EU, inter alia, by developing trade and investment flows, by liberalising trade in services […] promote cooperation in transport, energy and telecom networks." The EU Association Council with Israel agreed that relations should continue to be based on the current Action Plan, whose validity was extended until June 2011. According to the spokesperson for EU Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy, "no new action plan or an upgrade is in sight at this stage." Furthermore, the February 22, 2011, Association Council reiterated the EU's June 2009 position that an "upgrade of relations needs to be seen in the context of the resolution of the Israel-Palestinian context through the implementation of a two-state solution." Lastly, the EU member states agreed to remain open to future cooperation with Israel, but according to the spokesperson, "substantial progress of the [Middle East Peace Process] MEPP remains an essential condition for moving forward concretely on bilateral relations." The spokesperson for the Embassy of Israel in Brussels stated that the "conditionality is detrimental to both the EU and Israel" and that "the MEPP should not be so closely linked to bilateral EU-Israeli relations."But it's about time some form of condition — even if it's a hypothetical condition for future relations — is iterated, if not imposed. Israel's special status of being an "EU member without being part of the institutions", as Javier Solana famously repeated, may be coming to an end.

 Stuart Reigeluth is managing editor of Revolve magazine.

The ramifications should be obvious!

Stay tuned!

 CONSTANCE


[1] Canada Free Press, http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/34473
(a reprint of article by Shimon Stein of March 16, 2011 for the Institute of National Security Studies, a Think Tank).