The European Commission will propose to the EU to partially suspend scientific and technological cooperation with Israel in the Horizon research and innovation program, as a first sanction against Israel’s actions in Gaza, the Commission announced Monday evening in a press release.
The announcement said that the part of the program that will be suspended, if the move is approved by the EU countries, will be access of Israeli startups and companies to grants in areas that may have dual use – security and commercial. This includes companies developing drones, AI and cybersecurity, in a sub-framework of the Horizon program called the EIC Accelerator, which awards research grants and funds for collaborations worth hundreds of millions of euros annually.
The recommended sanctions will now pass on to the EU ambassadors in Brussels, representatives of the 27 member states, to vote on whether they approve the proposal submitted by the European Commission. A vote could take place as early as Tuesday (today). The very submission by the EU’s executive body of a recommendation for sanctions, with the support of President Ursula von der Leyen, is an unprecedented move, and constitutes significant support for this step.
For the proposal to be approved, a qualified majority of 55% of the EU member states, representing 65% of its residents, is required. If Germany continues to support Israel in the EU and votes against the move, a key question will be how Italy will vote. Together, the two countries almost have a “veto bloc” because they represent more than 30% of the EU population. If Italy votes in favor of the move, its chances of being approved will be great. In Germany, too, there have been calls in recent days to put pressure on Israel through sanctions.
This is one of the 10 sanctions against Israel proposed by Kaia Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers two weeks ago. At the time, all the proposals were rejected, but Kallas made it clear that “all options remain on the table,” if Israel does not improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza as it had pledged to the EU. In recent days, criticism has intensified, and the current step would constitute the first sanction imposed by the EU on Israel. The official justification for the move is that Israel is not complying with Article 2 of the Association Agreement, which is the basis of relations, on the need to respect international law and human rights.
The sanction is intended to serve as a warning to Israel
The European Commission stressed that the decision is relevant only to the private sector, and not to Israeli academia. “The proposed decision is targeted and revocable. It does not affect the participation of Israeli universities and researchers in academic collaborations and research activities in the Horizon program,” the statement said.
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Horizon is the world’s most important scientific grant program, and a suspension from the program would be a major blow to Israeli science. The proposed sanctions are relevant only to a very small portion of the grants awarded Israeli companies by the Horizon program. It looks like the sanction is designed as a warning to Israel. However, Israeli researchers point out that such sanctions, whether the decision is approved or not, and whether it is expanded later or not, also unofficially harm the reputation of Israeli science and the willingness of other scientists in Europe and beyond to collaborate with Israeli researchers.
Two weeks ago, EU foreign ministers decided to refrain from sanctions against Israel, due to its promises to immediately increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. After delays and the difficult situation in the Gaza Strip, a series of foreign ministers and senior EU officials have demanded that Israel “fulfill its commitments,” and the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has warned that “all options are on the table.” Over the past few days, Israel has expanded aid to the Gaza Strip but the move does not seem to have been sufficient to satisfy the demands of the EU.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 29, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.
