Going West: Guidelines for Israel's Integration into the European Union

Abstract

It has been argued that historically, geographically and even religiously “Israel is from Europe, but not in Europe.”1 Indeed, the European Union (EU) is Israel’s economic, cultural and, in many respects, political hinterland. Yet for all its desire to partake in the European project, Israel is only now beginning to evaluate its relationship with the EU. Israel, however, has not yet made a strategic determination as to its desired relations with the EU.2 In June 2008, the EU–Israel Association Council expressed the political will to intensify EU–Israeli relations and agreed to upgrade them gradually within the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).3 In December 2008, the EU External Relations Council adopted guidelines for strengthening political dialogue structures with Israel. The success of this process, however, requires that Israel and the EU both agree on how they want to craft a tailor-made model for their relations.