The Council is the highest forum steering Israel-EU relations and deals with the full range of these ties, including in science, the economy, energy and the environment. This is the first time it has convened since 2012, a significant diplomatic achievement that reflects the improvement in Israel's relations with the EU over the past year.
This meeting contributes to the expansion of economic-diplomatic ties between Israel and the EU, and the advancement of bilateral cooperation in trade, climate, energy, water technology, digitilization, cyber, and health. These include support for Israeli companies and their partnership in ventures with European funding, the signing of a “data roaming" agreement that will dramatically reduce communications costs, and agreements that will enable the export of organic agricultural products to Europe and will adopt standards that will lower the prices of the products.
Israel & the EU: Shared Values
At the opening, Prime Minister Lapid thanked the Government of the Czech Republic, which is currently serving as President of the European Council, for leading the meeting. "The European Union is Israel's main trading partner, but we share more than just economic interests," he said. "We share liberal and democratic values. These values are under attack, and we must stand firm against this attack, together.
"We are all united in our desire to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. This is a regime that is murdering its citizens even as we speak. The world must not be silent. Even though we disagree on the JCPOA, we all agree that everything must be done to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state.
"We are (also) united in our desire for the war in Ukraine to end and in our desire for the restoration of its territorial integrity. We all understand that we must stand up and defend freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of the press around the world. And we are all committed to fighting discrimination. Antisemitism is on the rise again in Europe. We welcome the EU strategy to combat it and now have to put that plan into action.
"Friends, There are positive changes taking place around the world; and for a change, some of them are happening here in the Middle East. The Abraham Accords and Negev Forum are changing the region. Through the Negev Forum, we signed agreements and established working groups on technology, food security, energy, water, education and infrastructure. The EU can and should be a part of this.
"Over the past year, there has also been a positive change in our work with the Palestinian Authority. We are working with them and helping their economy develop. In my speech at the UN General Assembly, I expressed once more my commitment to the two-state solution. But the Palestinians need to put an end to terrorism and incitement. Israel wants peace that will lead to security, not peace that will destabilize the Middle East.
Cooperation between like-minded countries - a necessity
"In our meeting of Foreign Ministers last July, we began the dialogue that brought us to this moment. At the time, no one imagined that there would be a war in Europe. No one foresaw the energy crisis that followed. More than ever, we need to cooperate with like-minded countries. We need new technologies to maximize the capabilities of the countries represented in this forum. We will bring to the table plans, research cooperation, technological collaboration, trade, energy and more.
"The first goal I set with High Representative Borrell, Commissioner Várhelyi, and with all the foreign ministers, was reconvening the Association Council. This is the forum that will allow us to advance economic ties between Israel and the EU, and strengthen our fight to lower the cost of living, in both Israel and Europe. In December, we joined the Horizon Europe program, which will continue through 2027. In June, we signed a trilateral MoU with Egypt on energy cooperation. We are set to sign an agreement with Europol, and I hope we will conclude the signing of Creative Europe soon.
"We hope that now the path will be paved for Israel's participation in other European programs: Digital Europe, Invest-EU, EU4HEALTH and more. I look forward to our discussions today, and to a better future for Israel-EU relations. Thank you."