00:01The European Commission has proposed fully or partially banning imports of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements, alongside additional options
00:10to further restrict EU trade with settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
00:15Diplomatic sources have told Euronews that the first option would require companies importing goods from Israeli settlements to apply for
00:23an export license.
00:24Yet, the Commission's option paper warns that such a system remains vulnerable to circumvention.
00:30Secondly, the Commission has proposed introducing higher tariffs to make the import of goods from settlements prohibitively expensive, but acknowledges
00:39that this option is also vulnerable to circumvention methods.
00:42The third option is a full or partial ban on imports from illegal settlements, which would require customs officers and
00:50national authorities to identify goods from Israeli settlements at the EU borders.
00:55EU ambassadors are expected to provide their initial feedback in a closed-door meeting in Brussels on Friday, before EU
01:02foreign ministers gather for further discussions on Monday.
01:05However, the paper only outlines options, no actual proposals and no formal decision is expected on this matter next week.
01:13The next formal foreign affairs council is only expected in October, which for some member states will further delay the
01:19measures.
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