A/HRC/25/39 25. Denmark pointed out that, as a member of the European Union, it fully associated itself with the policy and initiatives undertaken by the European Union as a whole, as well as the various efforts made by the European External Action Service and the Commission of the European Union to further peace and justice. 26. Denmark also pointed out that, in October 2012, it had issued guidance to Danish retailers on labelling certain settlement products on a voluntary basis. The correct identification of the country of origin was required for all products, and the guidance issued by the Government of Denmark prohibited the labelling of products from the Occupied Palestinian Territory as originating from “Israel”. According to the guidance, settlement produce could be labelled as “Origin: the West Bank” or “Produced at the West Bank”. European Union 27. According to the note by the Permanent Delegation of the European Union submitted dated 21 November 2013, the European Union had consistently regarded Israeli settlements as illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace. Continued settlement expansion undermined the prospects of a negotiated resolution of the conflict by jeopardizing the possibility of a contiguous and viable Palestinian State, and that of Jerusalem, as the future capital of two States. 28. The European Union also pointed out that, on 19 July 2013, it had published guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities for European Union funding, in conformity with a series of unanimous political positions taken by the Foreign Affairs Council. This included the conclusions by the Council on the Middle East peace process of 10 December 2012, according to which all agreements between the State of Israel and the European Union had to, in accordance with international law, indicate unequivocally and explicitly their inapplicable nature to the territories occupied by Israeli in 1967. It also referred to the decision by the Council with regard to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which stated that “settlement activity will not benefit from any sort of EU funding or programmes”. The European Union also noted that these guidelines were in line with the long-standing position of the European Union not to recognize the sovereignty of Israel over the occupied territories or to consider them part of Israel. 29. The European Union reaffirmed its commitment to ensure continued, full and effective implementation of existing European Union legislation and bilateral agreements applicable to settlement products, and referred to a revised notice to importers issued on 3 August 2012 concerning imports from Israel to the European Union. It also referred to an earlier notice, published on 25 January 2005, in which operators had been reminded that products produced in the Israeli settlements located within the territories brought under Israeli administration in June 1967 were not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the European Union-Israel Association Agreement. 30. The European Union also noted that, since 1 February 2005, the exclusion of settlement goods from preferential treatment has been implemented in the European Union in accordance with a “technical agreement” concluded by the European Union and Israel, whereby the postal code and the name of the city, village or industrial zone where production conferring originating status had taken place appeared on all proof of preferential origin issued, or made in Israel. Member States custom authorities also checked whether the postal codes appearing on Israeli proof of origin presented to them corresponded to any of the postal codes appearing in the list of non-eligible locations made available to them by the Commission, and refused preference where it was. It noted that the list of non-eligible locations had been made public as a result of the afore-mentioned revised notice of 3 August 2012. 7