ABSTRACT
The talks between the Israelis and Commission officials left no room for doubt: the European Commission, or at least its highest levels, was interested in association with Israel. The Israelis had for some time feared that "covert" talks with the Commission would harm the chances of success; it was now evident that this concern was justified. The Israelis were furious at the Commission's attempts to avoid giving the talks any kind of official nature. Assenting to the Israeli request to renew the talks with the Commission on the basis of the memorandum would, in reality, mean investigating the option of association. The Commission could not simply renege on the understandings which it had reached with the Israelis, and therefore sought to minimize the content of the issues under negotiation, perhaps even evading talks about association, replacing it with a limited trade agreement.
