Contributor(s): Charles Shamas | In July the European Commission published "guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards." This step has been variously described as a 'political earthquake', a sanction targeting Israeli settlements and settlement policies, and a confrontational move to save the two-State solution and the Middle East Peace Process from final collapse. But what precisely is taking place and how did we get here? What are the likely political consequences? The presentation will outline the actual processes that have actually driven EU's production of these guidelines. In this light it will examine the role of the EU as a normative power striving to respect international law and comply with its own law while intensifying EU-Israel relations.
