VOA标准英语2013--欧盟计划把以色列被占领地区的商品打上标签

 

EU Plans Labeling of Israeli Products Made in Occupied Territories 欧盟计划把以色列被占领地区的商品打上标签

伦敦——欧盟正在推行着强使在西岸（巴勒斯坦约旦河以西地区，以色列人称为犹太和撒马利亚(东耶路撒冷除外)，是巴勒斯坦阿拉伯人和以色列人之间长期斗争的中心地带）和东耶路撒冷经营的公司打上产品原产地标签的计划。该计划始于2010年——巴以代表团第一次和平会谈。

Israel’s continued construction of settlements on land captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war has been a major obstacle to a peace deal. Currently products made by Israelis in the occupied territories are sold under the ‘Made in Israel’ label.

The European Union is pushing through rules to ensure products from the occupied territories are labeled as such.

The policy would implement¹ longstanding consumer legislation, Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs, told VOA on the phone from Brussels.

“The main principle of this legislation is that the information must not mislead the consumers. ‘Made in Israel’ as a label is misleading when it comes to settlement products. Currently the internal consultations³ on this are ongoing,” he said.

The change would bring labeling rules in line with the official EU position on the Israeli settlements, says Rosemary Hollis, Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at City University London.

“This is almost overdue⁴ in terms of carrying through on what they say is the legal status, or lack of legal status of the settlements,” she said.

In 2009, an agreement between Israel and the EU liberalized trade in agricultural products and a range of services.  EU imports from Israel soared to $16.7 billion last year.

The row over labeling comes days after the European Union voted to block EU grants and loans to Israeli entities⁵ if they are operating in the occupied territories.

But the moves could backfire, says Barak Seener, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

“The EU has undermined its credibility, its relevance⁶, as an effective or even an impartial⁷ interlocutor between Israel and the Palestinians because they’re taking a prejudiced reading of U.N. Resolution 242, which is purposely open-ended and ambiguous because the final status of the territories was meant to be the result of negotiations⁸ between Israel and the Palestinians," Seener said.     

Already, Israel, retaliating⁹ for the European move, has blocked the EU from aiding tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank.

But U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s success in bringing the Israelis and Palestinians to the table was coordinated¹⁰ with Europe, suggests Yossi Alpher, former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies who spoke² to VOA on the phone from Israel.

“It’s difficult to avoid the impression that Kerry is working with the Europeans in order to apply at exactly the right time a certain degree of pressure to Israel with regard to the settlements and drive home the message that when it comes to issues relating to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel is very much isolated,” Alpher said.

The EU meanwhile says it does not yet have a timetable for the new labeling guidelines. 

1 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

5 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

6 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

7 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 retaliating   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The administration will begin retaliating in six weeks if EC policies remain unchanged. 凯特先生说，如果欧共体一意孤行，美国政府将于六周后开始报复。 来自互联网

10 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法