Luxembourg:  Senior Israeli and European Union officials agreed today to launch talks to strengthen political and economic ties in an effort to bolster Europe's role and influence in bringing peace to the Middle East.

Dimitrij Rupel, Slovenia's foreign minister, whose country holds the EU presidency, said all 27 EU nations backed the move to forge closer ties, which he said would help moves to find an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"If you want to be a player you have to have tight, close, productive, friendly, upgraded relations and this is part of our policy," Rupel told reporters after the talks.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the agreement marked "a new phase" in relations between Europe and Israel. The two sides have had a rocky relationship over the years due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however ties have warmed in recent years amid Israeli overtures for peace.

"Today we have decided to upgrade our relations even further in various fields, including political, economic, scientific, legal, cultural, education, counterterrorism and much more," Livni said.

Rupel said specific plans on how to widen ties will be worked out in the months and years ahead and EU officials hinted that Israel's conduct in fostering peace with Arab counterparts could figure in how close bilateral relations will get.

"Everything plays a role," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said before today's meeting.

Source : PTI