Commissioner Špidla: Israel does little to widen co-operation with the EU

The Commissione noted that the EU can provide various financial tools for the setting up of seminars as well as technical meetings which can benefit Israel but which Israel hardly used
 
Vladimםr Špidla, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, will today arrive in Israel for a four-day visit to strengthen the social dimension of EU cooperation in the region.
 
Commissioner Špidla held talks with ministers as well as with local employers' and workers' organizations representatives from both Israel and the Palestinian Territory.
 
In Israel, Commissioner Špidla held meetings with Minister of Trade, Industry and Labour, Eliyahu Yishai; Minister of Pensioner Affairs, Rafi Eitan and Minister of Welfare and Social Services, Diaspora, Society and the Fight Against Anti-Semitism, Yitzhak Herzog on enhancing cooperation on social matters in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy EU-Israel Action Plan.
 
During a meeting held with Mr. Shraga Brosh, president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, the guest noted that Israel did not do its best to increase co-operation with the EU.
 
The guest noted that the EU can provide various financial tools for the setting up of seminars as well as technical meetings which can benefit Israel but which Israel hardly used.
 
The parties concluded to examine ways and means to increase co-operation in areas such as improvements in work conditions, equal Opportunities between men and women, safety at work etc.