Meeting with illegal settlement profiteer breaches EP rules

Statement by Neoklis Sylikiotis, AKEL MEP of GUE/NGL and President of the EP Delegation for Relations with Palestine

Office of AKEL MEP N. Sylikiotis, 3^RD February 2017

GUE/NGL and AKEL MEP Neoklis Sylikiotis has written to the President of the European Parliament in protest at the invitation extended to the Director of Casimex (a French wine company importing from illegal Israeli settlements) to attend a meeting of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Israel.

The program of the Delegation’s official meeting, which took place yesterday afternoon, was due to debate United Nations Resolution 2334 and its impact on EU businesses’.

1. Sylikiotis, who is also President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Palestine, stated in his letter addressed to the newly-elected President of European Parliament Antonio Tajani that “the decision of the Delegation for relations with Israel to invite this speaker is particularly problematic! This meeting undermines the credibility of both the European Parliament and the EU’s institutions. We therefore call on you to take all the necessary measures to cancel the invitation”.

The Cypriot MEP added that a platform shouldn’t be given to Casimex at the European parliament, given that it so blatantly disregards both International Law and EU legislation.

“Casimex is deeply complicit in violations of International Law. The settlements are illegal and trade relations with them offers financial sustainability. In addition, Casimex ignores EU legislation by placing the label “Made in Israel” on products from illegal settlements. This company must be held accountable instead of being rewarded with an invitation to the European Parliament”.

AKEL MEP Sylikiotis expressed the concerns of dozens of MEP’s from across the spectrum of Political Groups who also opposed the invitation extended:

“The fact that the meeting deals with UN Resolution 2334 regarding the illegal Israeli settlements is ironic. The European Parliament’s rules of procedures are quite clear: the EP’s international contacts shall be governed by the principles of International Law and Delegations should respect the decisions adopted by the plenary.”

“The time has come for the EU to take action against illegal Israeli settlements. This is a matter of integrity: it cannot claim to oppose the settlements at the same time as it is, according to estimates, importing more than 230 million Euros of products from settlements annually”, N.Sylikiotis concluded.