The European Commission has announced it will propose to limit Israel’s participation to Horizon Europe over its role in the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
With pressure mounting on European governments, the EU executive has announced it will propose a partial suspension of Israel’s access to Horizon, the bloc’s €95.5 billion research programme. It will need to be passed by a majority of Member States.
"While Israel has announced a daily humanitarian pause in Gaza fighting and has met some of its commitments under the common understanding on humanitarian aid and access, the situation remains severe," the European Commission said on Monday.
This decision could affect the participation of Israeli start-ups and small businesses with disruptive innovation and emerging technologies which can be used in cybersecurity, drones and artificial intelligence.
The programme in question is the EIC Accelerator, which has an overall budget of €634 million for 2025.
The Brussels Times understands that Israel has benefited to the tune of over €200 million from the EIC fund, with around €135 million in the form of grants and around €65 million in the form of equity investments.
A child running through the rubble in Gaza. Credit: Belga
On the Israeli side, the Foreign Ministry responded saying the suspension was "mistaken, regrettable, and unjustified," saying it will "work to ensure that this recommendation is not adopted by the Member States."
It added that any such decision "only serves to strengthen Hamas and therefore undermines the chances of reaching a ceasefire and a framework for the release of hostages."
The decision comes following a review of the Israel-EU Association agreement, in which Article 2 stipulates that the relationship between the two must be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.
A report presented to EU Member States at the end of June found that Israel had breached this article. Recently, there had growing been calls for an outright suspension of the agreement, but this fell short due to internal divisions.
'Famine playing out'
"The proposed suspension is a targeted and reversible action," the Commission added. "It does not affect the participation of Israeli universities and researchers in collaborative projects and research activities under Horizon Europe."
A UN-backed body, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), issued an alert on Tuesday saying "the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip."
Israel has been accused by the UN of intentionally blocking humanitarian aid into the besieged territory for months, while Tel Aviv is accusing the UN of lying. On Sunday, Israel announced a humanitarian pause, saying it will ease the blockade but has not clarified if it will allow supplies at the scale needed to reverse hunger crisis.
According to an update by the EU Observer, Member States failed to agree on the suspension during a meeting on Tuesday evening. Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic rejected the suspension. Germany and Italy said during the meeting that they need more time to study the details.
The matter is expected to be discussed further in the coming few weeks.
