A3. EUROPEAN UNION (EU), FOREIGN MINISTERS’ LETTER CALLING FOR LABELING OF SETTLEMENT PRODUCTS, BRUSSELS, 13 APRIL 2015
Abstract: 

In this letter leaked to Haaretz, 16 EU foreign ministers call on EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to advance European guidelines on labeling settlement products. The initiative was first proposed in April 2013, in a letter by 13 EU foreign ministers to the then foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who put the issue on hold at the request of U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry as he worked to resume Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. The renewed EU effort comes after the breakdown of peace talks in March 2014 and the April 2015 formation of one of the most right-wing ruling coalitions in Israel’s history. It also follows a series of recommendations to increase EU pressure on Israel (see Doc. A2 above). The full text of the letter, including its signatories, is presented below.