Interpretative Notice of the European Commission on Indication of Origin of Goods from the Territories Occupied by Israel: An Analysis of Causes and of Its Significance for the Preferential Trade Agreements[Výkladové sdělení Evropské komise o označování původu zboží z Izraelem okupovaných území: analýza příčin a významu pro preferenční obchodní dohody]

By the end of 2015 the European Commission published its interpretative notice which provided general guidelines on appropriate labelling of products originated in the occupied territories. The proposed expressions are those such as "product from the West Bank (Israeli settlement)". This final decision to publish these guidelines, resulting from continuous effort to resolve the long-standing dispute lasting from mid-90's, provoked a fierce debate on the international level. Even though the European Union has advocated itself by an attempt to protect the European consumers, it has been accused of applying double standard approach, discrimination and antisemitism. The aim of this paper is to both clarify main reasons behind European Commission's decision to publish its Interpretative Notice and to analyse whether it is appropriate to label such action as inconsistent and discriminatory. Results of the provided analysis imply that the criticism of the Interpretative Notice is in many respects unjustified and mainly politically, not economically, motivated.