EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton Wants Settlement Goods Labeled.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton Wants Settlement Goods Labeled.(Fars).EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton called for correct labeling of products imported from Israeli settlements in a move which could be a precursor to a ban on such products in response to Israel's settlement activities on the occupied territories.

The European Union is intensifying its efforts toward labeling Israeli goods produced beyond the pre-1967 lines - in the Golan Heights, and across the so-called Green Line in East Jerusalem and the West Bank - as not having originated in Israel.

The move could be a precursor to a ban on such products, though insiders do not consider this likely in the foreseeable future, The Times of Israel reported Friday.

In a new letter to the foreign ministries of the 27 member states, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called for the full implementation of existing EU legislation according to which products from West Bank settlements and the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem do not receive the same treatment as products from areas the EU recognizes as Israeli territory.

To date, the existing EU legislation - designed to express the union's frustration over Israel's settlement policies and the stalemate in the peace process - has not been implemented. Ashton's letter marks a significant push within the EU to label settlement products as such.

"The EU and its member states have a clear position on settlement activities in the occupied territories. Closely linked to this is the question of products imported into the EU originating beyond Israel's pre-1967 borders and their correct labeling on the EU market," Ashton wrote in text of the letter quoted by Maariv on Friday.

Some EU member states have already introduced voluntary national guidelines on the labeling of such products and others are currently planning to do so, Ashton wrote. "An increasing number of member states" have been calling to formulate and implement EU guidelines "in a coherent manner," she added.

In a new report sent to Brussels and foreign ministries in the 27 member states, the consuls general, who are stationed in East Jerusalem and Ramallah, called on the EU to "prevent, discourage and raise awareness about problematic implications of financial transactions including foreign direct investments, from within the EU in support of settlement activities, infrastructure and services," Haaretz reported Wednesday.Read the full story here