Hungary will defy EU directive on Israeli settlement product labeling

Hungary will disregard the EU directive to label products from Israeli settlements, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Jerusalem on Monday. Szijjártó, who also serves as his country's trade minister, branded the decision "irrational".

“We do not support that decision. It is an inefficient instrument. It is irrational and does not contribute to a solution [to the Palestinian–Israeli conflict], but causes damage,” he said at the event held by the Israel Council on Foreign Relations.

He also said that the EU should strengthen its cooperation with Israel to defeat terrorism, and use Israel’s experience, knowledge and technology in fighting the threat.

He also addressed the criticism his country has faced in light of its policies towards migrants: "Political correctness prevents the addressing of situations as they should be," he declared, emphasizing that political correctness and hypocrisy are undermining Europe which, “has not faced so many challenges since World War Two,” he said according to the Jerusalem Post.

The European Commission announced last week their approval of a new labeling policy for identifying so called 'settlement products' – referring to goods produced in disputed territories including the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

The EU maintains the position that these areas do not fall within recognized borders of Israel. The commission therefore adopted a new legal policy for the labeling of products originating from these areas to inform consumers that they were produced in settlements (which the bloc considers illegal) and not in Israel.
 i24news.tv
16/11/15
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