Press Release: EU-Israel Association Agreement enters into force

Following its ratification by the European Parliament, the Knesset and the legislatures of the 15 Member States of the European Union, the EU-Israel Association Agreement will enter into force on June 1. The Commission, which negotiated this agreement in 1994 and 1995, welcomes this important event in EU-Israel relations.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement is one of a series of similar Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements signed or under negotiation between the European Union and its 12 partners in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Association Agreements with Tunisia, Morocco and an Interim Agreement with the Palestinian Authority are already in force. One of the aims of these agreements is to create the basis for the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area by 2010.