Against the backdrop of the Euro Zone crisis and the challenges faced by the Israeli economy, and within the framework of a regular economic dialogue foreseen in the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a delegation from the European Union is visiting the Ministry of Finance in Jerusalem.
Led by Mr. Andrew Standley, Head of the Delegation of the EU to Israel, a team of experts from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the European External Action Service has arrived to conduct the first meeting of the Sub-Committee on Economic and Financial Matters. This dialogue is foreseen in the EU-Israel Association Agreement of 2000. Economic Counselors from the embassies of EU member states will also be present.
The Israeli side will be led by Mr. Doron Cohen, Acting Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Finance, and will be made up of other senior representatives from the Ministry, the National Economic Council, the Bank of Israel and the Central Bureau of Statistics.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for an in-depth technical economic dialogue, in which both sides will exchange information and views on recent macroeconomic developments and policy challenges in both Israel and the EU, as well as strategies for structural economic reform. Several key areas of fiscal and monetary policy are on the agenda, as well as a discussion of the current crisis in the Euro Zone's public debt markets, the comprehensive policy response being put in place by the EU, and the potential impacts of these developments in the EU economy on the Israeli economy.
Representatives of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and Eurostat will discuss the exchange of statistical data between Israel and the EU, as well as the modification of the Israeli statistical system as a result of Israel accession to the OECD.
Overall, the meeting is hoped to provide an important step towards deepening the dialogue and co-operation between Israel and the EU on economic and financial matters.
