EU warns Israel aid depends on political dialogue

[Classical_Liberal]

EU warns Israel aid depends on political dialogue

By Reuters



BRUSSELS - EU aid to Israel will depend on better cooperation from the Jewish state, the bloc's Dutch presidency said on Monday, but he failed to condemn it over a court finding that it was building a security barrier illegally.




European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels said merely that an Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice last week needed to be "studied carefully".

But Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, hinted at possible consequences if Israel did not cooperate more closely.

"We said ... that our aid and support for Israel through different instruments has to go hand in hand with the political dialogue," Bot said.

"And if Israel is not prepared to engage in dialogue in a satisfactory way with the European Union, then obviously the European Union must also consider possible consequences of that, but I shall say nothing about those consequences for the moment because we have not yet got down to the heart of the matter."..........

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/450556.html

[bemildred]

1. Hmmmm. Are we starting to see a pattern here? nt