The European Union is to boost its ties with Israel, despite objections from the Palestinian Authority and other Arab governments over continued illegal settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem. “Today we mark a new phase in the relations between Israel and the EU,” said Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni speaking to reporters alongside Dimitrij Rupel, his Slovenian counterpart, whose country currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency. Mr Rupel said the EU and Israel were “elevating our relations to a new level of more intense, more fruitful, more influential cooperation,” according to AFP. EU foreign ministers made the decision at their annual bilateral meeting with the Jewish state, the EU-Israel Association Council, which took place on Monday (16 June) in Luxembourg. As a result, Israel has won three key advances: increased diplomatic co-operation with the 27-state bloc, participation in European agencies and the establishment of a working group to investigate the country’s integration into the European single market. http://euobserver.com/9/26340