[Reuters ] The European Union is unlikely to agree to any wide-ranging upgrade of relations with Israel at a meeting with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Monday, EU diplomats said on Wednesday. The Israelis sent a memorandum to the EU last year suggesting a range of possible upgrades in relations, with greater access to EU markets, agencies and spending programs. However, an EU diplomat said: "That is not going to happen. One reason is that there wasn't much appetite at this point among member states, given the uncertainty of the situation on the ground in Israel and its immediate neighborhood." Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad wrote to Brussels last month urging the EU not to upgrade ties with Israel. Diplomats said Egypt had also lobbied the EU against boosting ties with Israel.
2008-06-12 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive