E-Action Item: European Parliament must reject EU-Israel ACAA agreement
Please send the following letter, or one of your own composition, to MEPs in Ireland north and south. The ACAA trade agreement between the EU and Israel is due to be discussed and voted on by the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and International Trade committees on 24th and 26th April respectively.
Email addresses of MEPs: emer.costello@europarl.europa.eu, paul.murphy@europarl.europa.eu, gay.mitchell@europarl.europa.eu, liam.aylward@europarl.europa.eu, nessa.childers@europarl.europa.eu, mairead.mcguinness@europarl.europa.eu, brian.crowley@europarl.europa.eu, sean.kelly@europarl.europa.eu, phil.prendergast@europarl.europa.eu, patthecope.gallagher@europarl.europa.eu, marian.harkin@europarl.europa.eu, jim.higgins@europarl.europa.eu, bairbre.debrun@europarl.europa.eu, diane.dodds@europarl.europa.eu, “james.nicholson@europarl.europa.eu”
SAMPLE LETTER
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Subject: European Parliament must reject EU-Israel ACAA agreement
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Dear MEP,
The Additional Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an EC-Israel Association on an EC-Israel Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA) is currently being debated at the European Parliament and is likely to be adopted. The adoption of ACAA would contribute to the elimination of technical barriers to trade, thereby increasing the accessibility of the EU’s markets to Israel which would benefit Israeli companies, many of which are known to conduct lucrative activities in illegal settlements, considered by both the EU and the UN to be in breach of international law.
I call upon the members of the European Parliament to ensure respect for the Lisbon Treaty which promotes the need for consistency: “the Union’s action on the international scene shall be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law… The Union shall ensure consistency between the different areas of its external action and between these and its other policies. The Council and the Commission, assisted by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, shall ensure that consistency and shall cooperate to that effect”.
Moreover, the “Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council on Human Rights and Democracy at the Heart of EU External Action”, recently presented by Catherine Ashton, stipulates that “the EU’s trade and human rights agenda needs to be coherent, transparent, predictable, feasible and effective”.
When it comes to the stated positions of the EU on the Middle East, they could not be clearer – both in relation to Gaza and reiterated EU calls to lift the blockade, as well as the West Bank and the illegality of the settlements, which the EU considers to be an obstacle to peace. In addition, in the past months, three internal EU reports by the EU Heads of Missions in the OPT thoroughly described human rights violations committed by Israel in the West-Bank (including East-Jerusalem) and against the Palestinian citizens of Israel itself. Earlier this month, a further Heads of Mission document dealing with violence conducted by illegal Israeli settlers was leaked by The Rights Forum. The document states that “[s]ettler activity is a leading cause of violence against Palestinian civilians, destruction of Palestinian property and the abuse of Palestinian rights under international law”.
In this context, the consistent trade policy regarding Israel would be rejection of the ACAA, or any other agreement, that would in any manner benefit Israel and/or its industries. This is a question of credibility, accountability and justice. We therefore urge you not to consider those values as irrelevant or subordinate to short-term trade interests. At stake is the EU’s long-term strategic interests, as well as its credibility as a defender of human rights.
For all the reasons stated above, I am calling for the unambiguous rejection of the EU-Israel Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME