Palestinian exports are set to gain duty-free and quota-free access to the European Union, dpa quoted the European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, as saying today. The announcement comes in the wake of Israel's recent attack against a flotilla trying to break its naval blockade on the Gaza Strip, which drew international condemnation after nine activists were killed in the confrontation. "The European Commission is expected to propose granting duty-free quota-free access for Palestinian exports to the EU in the coming months," De Gucht said after a meeting in Brussels with the Palestinian economy minister, Hasan Abu-Libdeh. But an EU official insisted that the commission's forthcoming decision had "nothing to do with the flotilla" and has been under preparation "for months." The new trade regime, which would need approval by EU governments and the European Parliament before coming into force, would "remove all tariffs" and would apply to "all Palestinian goods," including those from Gaza. Abu-Libdeh said improved access to European markets was "an integral part of the statebuilding process" pursued by the Palestinian Authority - the Western-supported body running the other Palestian territory in the West Bank. He stressed the significance of "sustaining the Palestinian private sector in Gaza severely affected by (Israel's) blockade on the Gaza Strip."
