Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 28: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will support the proposal of the European Commission to upgrade the trade relationship between the European Union and Israel through the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products at a time when the European Union has again expressed serious concern about the continuing existence of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. [32299/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No 54 from Deputy Mac Lochlainn on this issue on 13 June, which was as follows: "The Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA) is a normal technical measure under the existing EU-Israel Association Agreement and Action Plan, and does not represent any upgrading or major change in EU-Israel trade relations. It is one of eight such agreements concluded so far with the EU's Mediterranean partners, including also Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. These agreements are intended to eliminate technical barriers to trade, and so facilitate trade in both directions. They provide for mutual recognition of standards based on the adoption of the EU system and legislative norms by the countries concerned. This in turn further enhances the acceptance and reach of EU standards.

The agreements concern various areas of manufactured goods. It has been expected that the agreement with Israel might relate especially to pharmaceuticals, and perhaps increase the availability in the EU of generic medicines, at lower cost to patients and health services. The ACAA with Israel was signed in 2010 and is currently awaiting approval by the European Parliament.

As the Deputy is aware, the Government has been especially active in bringing attention to bear at EU level on the issues surrounding Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. But no Irish Government has supported blocking normal trade relations with Israel on that basis, nor would there be any possibility of success if we were to attempt to do so. This policy, and the reasons for it, have been stated many times in the Oireachtas.