EU will soon label products from Israeli settlements

The European Union is finalising its guidelines on the labelling of products made in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

“The work is close to being finished but it is still ongoing,” Mogherini said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, who holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said: “We have to make sure that consumers can distinguish products that come from territories occupied by Israel,” adding that the instructions to label such products are expected by the end of the year.

“This is not a hostile move against Israel. This is happening today in Britain and it should be applied in the rest of the European Union Member States,” he said.

Mogherini said the new move will result in an angry Israeli reaction, and could obstruct the resumption of peace talks.

“One way for us to contribute to a better understanding and a better sense of cooperation between Europe and the Arab world, the whole Middle East,” Mogherini said.