Analysis by David Cronin
"BRUSSELS, Dec 18 (IPS) - Israel's relations with the European Union were tense for most of 2009 - if newspaper headlines are to be believed. In the past week, a British court drew fierce criticism from Israeli politicians after it issued an arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni, the former Israeli foreign minister, following a complaint that she had authorised war crimes in Gaza......
In reality, however, the tension has been superficial. While there may have been the occasional angry word exchanged on the diplomatic front, the EU's political and economic ties with Israel have been strengthened over the past few years to such an extent that Javier Solana, who stepped down as the Union's foreign policy chief in late November, has remarked that Israel is an EU member state in all but name......."
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