Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment. The Minister for Foreign Affairs appreciates the opportunity afforded by this debate to address on the floor of the House these matters, to which the Minister has replied in several parliamentary questions over the last week or so, including a reply issued today to a written parliamentary question tabled by Deputy Costello. The Minister welcomes the engagement of the Oireachtas on this matter as well as that of civil society organisations, several of which met with our ambassador to the OECD in Paris last week, and others who will meet officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs during the course of next week.

In June 2008, at the annual Association Council meeting with Israel, the EU agreed in principle to further enhance its relationship with Israel. The EU restated this agreement in principle at its December 2008 External Relations Council. Ireland agreed with this decision, but acted with other member states to ensure that the decision of the External Relations Council included a clear linkage to the EU's political concerns in the region, especially progress on the peace process.

Following the Gaza conflict, Ireland and other member states argued that for the EU to proceed at this time with the proposed upgrade would be open to misinterpretation, both in the wider Middle East region and in Israel itself. In June 2009 the Council agreed that the time was not right to proceed with the upgrade. This remains the position for now. It is the Government's view that nothing has happened to alter that decision. For practical purposes, co-operation with Israel continues to be guided by the existing Action Plan.

With regard to the proposed accession of Israel to the OECD, it should be recalled that the OECD has periodically enlarged its membership since its foundation in 1961 with 20 members, including Ireland, to its current membership of 30. In 2007, the OECD ministerial council meeting decided, by consensus, to open accession discussions with five countries, including two EU partners: Estonia, Slovenia, Chile, Israel and the Russian Federation. The OECD accession process involves submission of an initial memorandum which sets out the country's position on more than 200 OECD legal instruments, and technical accession reviews by 22 OECD committees assessing the country's compliance with the OECD acquis - that is, the organisation's standards for multilateral co-operation. These obligations include liberalisation commitments under the OECD investment instruments, adoption of national laws which comply with the requirements of the OECD anti-bribery convention, and commitments related to environmental policy. A final decision is made by the Council of the OECD to invite the candidate country to accede.

An invitation to accede to the OECD is based upon the applicant country's compliance with the organisation's acquis and does not relate to or imply approval for other actions or policies of that state. This is a very important point, which must be emphasised. Agreeing to an application from a particular state to accede to the OECD does not in any way indicate the OECD's approval of other policies or practices of the country concerned. What the 30 members of the OECD are acknowledging is that a successful applicant is in compliance with the organisation's acquis.

An accession agreement with Chile was signed on 11 January of this year and it will accede formally to the organisation once ratification procedures are completed. It is expected that Slovenia, Estonia and Israel will complete their accession procedures this year. The accession process for Russia is moving at a slower pace and there is currently no predicted date for completion. In the case of Israel, on the basis of formal opinions and all other relevant technical information, the Secretary-General of the OECD has recommended to the OECD council that Israel be invited to accede to the organisation. It is expected that the OECD council will address this matter over the weeks ahead.

Throughout the Israeli accession negotiations, the EU has adopted a cohesive approach. It plans to issue a common statement at the OECD council when a decision to formally invite Israel to become a member is taken in the coming weeks. It is anticipated that the EU will note that Israel has taken a number of important steps forward through the adoption of new legislation, regulations and policy directions in many areas, including anti-corruption measures, the environment, competition and intellectual property rights. It is also likely to state that Israel is expected to demonstrate readiness for compliance with the recommendations made by OECD bodies in the accession process and to pursue reforms, especially in areas in which implementation periods were granted or commitments have been undertaken.

On one issue of particular sensitivity - that of statistics on Israel - the following footnote will appear in all OECD documents which include statistical data on Israel:

The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.

The use of this footnote will be formally agreed in an exchange of letters between the OECD and Israel which will be signed this evening in Paris. Taking all requirements of the accession process into consideration, the Minister for Foreign Affairs expects that Ireland will join the other 29 members of the OECD in formally inviting Israel to become a member. Upon acceding to the OECD, Israel, like all new members, will be subject to vigorous and objective peer review processes across a range of areas, including potentially sensitive ones such as labour standards and issues relating to income inequality and discrimination. We will work with partners in ensuring that Israel fully complies with all the obligations arising from OECD membership.

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