Attachment

THE EUROPEAN UNION,

hereinafter referred to as "EU"

and

THE STATE OF ISRAEL,

hereinafter referred to as "Israel",

hereinafter together referred to as "the Parties",

WHEREAS Israel is a party to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, hereinafter referred to as "the Association Agreement"^f1,

RECOGNISING that the adoption and implementation of relevant EU law by Israel provides the opportunity to extend certain benefits of the internal market and to ensure its effective operation in certain sectors,

CONSIDERING the shared commitment of the Parties to the principles of free movement of goods and to promoting product quality, so as to ensure the health and safety of their citizens and the protection of the environment, including through technical assistance and other forms of cooperation between them,

DESIRING to conclude a Protocol to the Association Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (hereafter referred to as "this Protocol") providing for the application of the mutual acceptance of industrial products which fulfil the requirements for being lawfully placed on the market in one of the Parties, including where appropriate the mutual recognition of the results of obligatory conformity assessment of industrial products,

NOTING that Article 47 of the Association Agreement provides, where appropriate, for the conclusion of a European conformity assessment Agreement and that Article 55 of the Association Agreement provides for the use of best endeavours to approximate the laws of the Parties,

CONSIDERING that, in the sectors covered by this Protocol, Israel's national law is substantially aligned with relevant EU law,

NOTING the close relationship between the European Union and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which makes it appropriate to consider the conclusion of a parallel European conformity assessment Agreement between Israel and those countries equivalent to this Protocol,

BEARING IN MIND the Parties' status as Contracting Parties to the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation, and conscious in particular of their rights and obligations under the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS: