Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contact he has had with New Zealand regarding Europe's use of economic partnership agreements. [15390/09]

Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 67: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the situation as regards economic partnership agreements between the European Union and other parties; if the trade agreement as currently pertains between the EU and Israel has been discussed recently; and his views of any development of such agreement in view of the recent conflict in Gaza. [15367/09]

Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 67 together.

The EU is currently negotiating a series of trade and development Agreements, known as Economic Partnership Agreements, with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries. Historically, ACP countries benefited from unilateral trade preferences with the EU. However, these were deemed to violate World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, on the basis that they established unfair discrimination between developing countries and placed those countries outside the ACP Group at a disadvantage. The Cotonou Agreement of 2000 provided for the negotiation of new Agreements with ACP States, which would be acceptable to the WTO. On this basis, the WTO agreed in 2001 to grant a waiver to the EU to continue unilateral preferences until January 2008.

The negotiations for these Agreements are being carried out by the European Commission on behalf of the European Union. Following protracted and difficult negotiations, only one of the regional groupings, representing the 15 countries of the Caribbean region, initialled and signed a full Agreement with the EU before the January 2008 deadline. This Agreement was signed by Ireland on 16 July 2008.

A further 21 ACP countries initialled interim Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU. The interim Agreements with Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon have been signed by the European Commission and the Member States. The Agreements were signed by Ireland on 18 December 2008, following Dáil approval. Negotiations between the Commission and the remaining ACP countries are continuing with a view to finalising signature of the interim Agreements during 2009.

Throughout this negotiating process Ireland has consistently maintained in discussions within the EU that the objective must be to finalise Agreements which are supportive of ACP countries' development needs and their poverty reduction efforts. We have been to the fore in ensuring that a partnership approach is maintained between the Commission and its ACP counterparts.

Neither New Zealand nor Israel is a party to these negotiations. I have had no discussions with the Government of New Zealand in relation to Economic Partnership Agreements, although the European Commission has briefed them on the negotiations with a number of countries in the Pacific region.

EU relations with Israel, including trade relations, are governed by the EU-Israel Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement which entered into force on 1 June 2000. The Agreement provides for the progressive development of a free trade area between the EU and Israel. At the most recent meeting of the Association Council to review the operation of the Agreement, in June 2008, the EU agreed in principle to further develop these relations when the current Action Plan under the Agreement became due for renewal in April 2009.

The Government has made clear Ireland's view that the question of an upgrade in relations should be revisited in the light of negative developments since then. It should be noted, however, that the proposed upgrade relates primarily to political contacts under the Association Agreement, and not to trade links. The Government is opposed to the use of trade embargoes or other boycotts in relation to the Middle East question.