Proposal for a Council Decision on the Union position within the Joint Committee established by the Euro- Mediterranean Interim Association Agreement on Trade and Co-operation between the European Community, of the one part, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority (PA) of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, of the other part, with regard to the adoption of a Recommendation on the implementation of the EU-PA ENP Action Plan

The Palestinian Authority (PA) and the European Community (EC) first established contractual relations in 1997 when the EC and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), for the benefit of the PA, concluded an Interim Association Agreement on trade and cooperation. On the basis of this agreement, the EU-PA European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan was signed in May 2005 for a period of three to five years.

Within this framework, EU-Palestinian relations have developed significantly in recent years, with the resumption of the activities of the Joint Committee, the establishment of initially four subcommittees and the launching of the political dialogue. The validity of the current Action Plan expired on 30 June 2012 and hence a new Action Plan, building on the EU’s long-standing support to the PA’s statebuilding efforts is appropriate. In order to prepare for this new Action Plan, the number of ENP subcommittees was increased from four to six to enable a better monitoring of the Action Plan. The new subcommittees are fully aligned with the new Action Plan.

The EU-PA ENP Action Plan shall be the essential reference tool that will guide our bilateral relations with the Palestinian Authority in the coming years. The ENP will continue to act as a catalyst as a single policy framework, based inter alia on partnership and joint ownership, as well as performance-driven differentiation and tailor-made assistance.

EUR-Lex: COM(2012)748: Follow the progress of this document through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2012:748:FIN

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