The European Union is weighing the suspension of Israeli access to research funding amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
While some EU member states view the move as a necessary step, others argue it either doesn’t go far enough or already overreaches.
Since late May, more than 1,000 people have died trying to reach humanitarian aid in Gaza, according to United Nations figures.
These staggering losses have intensified European calls for Israel to ease its blockade and lift stringent restrictions on aid delivery.
In response, the European Commission on Monday proposed halting Israel’s participation in select parts of Horizon Europe – the bloc’s flagship program for research and innovation funding.
“Although Israel has declared daily humanitarian pauses in Gaza and partially fulfilled commitments related to humanitarian aid and access, the situation remains dire,” the commission said in a statement.
The suspension targets Israeli involvement in the Accelerator of the European Innovation Council (EIC), a segment of Horizon Europe that supports startups and small businesses working on dual-use technologies, including cybersecurity, drones and artificial intelligence.
The commission’s proposal marks one of the most significant attempts yet to hold Israel accountable within the framework of EU agreements.
The commission cited a recent EU report concluding that Israel’s actions in Gaza violate the principle of respect for human rights – a condition embedded in the EU-Israel Association Agreement that underpins their political and economic relations since 2000.
More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The statement pointed specifically to how Israel has severely restricted delivery of humanitarian aid to the roughly 2 million Palestinians living in the sealed-off Gaza Strip in recent months.
The new EU proposal does not require unanimous approval from all member states. A qualified majority – 15 of the 27 member countries representing at least 65% of the EU population – would be enough to adopt the measure.
But it remains unclear whether the proposal will receive that level of support.
During talks in Brussels on Tuesday among the bloc’s permanent representatives, no agreement was reached even on launching the formal decision-making process, as countries including Germany called for more analysis and time to assess the situation on the ground, according to diplomats.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the commission’s recommendation as “mistaken, regrettable and unjustified.”
It warned that sanctioning Israel while it is engaged in a fight against Hamas – following the group’s incursion on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages – “only serves to strengthen” Hamas.
Israel said it would work to block the measure from being adopted.
The EU statement comes amid increasing concern from humanitarian agencies and governments alike.
At the monthly meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in mid-July, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev stressed that, in view of the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza, his country considered it imperative to open all checkpoints to ensure humanitarian access for the civilian population.
The U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned in a report Tuesday that “the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.”
The report does not count as a formal classification of famine, but the organization said it would carry out a new analysis “without delay.”
“This is unlike anything we have seen in this century. It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra in the past century,” said the U.N. World Food Programme emergency director Ross Smith, insisting that “we need urgent action now.”
Some aid has been allowed into Gaza in recent days in the form of airdrops and trucks. However, humanitarian groups say it is nowhere near the amount needed.
Israel rejects accusations that it is deliberately starving Gazans.
Despite growing international concern, EU member states remain divided on how to respond.
Several countries, including Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, have repeatedly voiced opposition to sanctioning Israel.
“We support Israel. We seek to ensure that all resolutions concerning the situation in Gaza are balanced,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told reporters last Wednesday. “But this does not mean that our support is unconditional and that we support every step the Israeli government takes.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has remained one of Israel’s strongest allies in Europe.
In April, he hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest despite an active International Criminal Court arrest warrant against the Israeli premier for crimes against humanity.
At the EU level, Hungary opposes any sanctions against Israel, even those targeting violent settlers that the other 26 member states previously agreed to.
Germany is another strong ally and has so far taken no action against Israel. However, it has been under pressure to respond to deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government’s security cabinet discussed options to increase pressure on Israel to improve the dire situation in Gaza.
Options include halting arms exports and suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, though decisions on weapons exports fall to Germany’s secretive Federal Security Council.
While EU-wide consensus remains elusive, some countries have taken independent action on multiple fronts.
France will recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly in September, President Emmanuel Macron announced last Thursday.
Including France, Palestinian statehood is now recognized by 142 countries, according to an AFP tally, though Israel and the United States strongly oppose recognition.
In Europe, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain took this step following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. Sweden, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus recognized Palestinian statehood prior to the war, some as far back as 1988.
France is co-chairing a conference on a two-state solution alongside Saudi Arabia in New York this week.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a speech that the move to recognize the Palestinian state and advocate for a two-state solution was a rejection of the notion that “the war camp is winning over the peace camp” and a rejection of Hamas’ contestation of Israel’s right to exist.
He added: “It is also a rejection of allowing the extremists in Israel to say that the Palestinians have no right to exist.”
The U.K. announced Tuesday that it would follow suit in September unless there is a cease-fire and Israel commits to a two-state solution.
Italy’s Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said last week that Italy is not yet ready to recognize Palestine but condemned Israel’s strikes on Gaza and restrictions on aid.
“We can no longer accept carnage and famine,” Tajani said.
The Spanish government has been among the most critical of Israel.
It welcomes the commission’s proposal to partially suspend scientific cooperation with Israel but believes the EU should go further in responding to human rights violations in Gaza and suspend the association agreement.
Some countries have also imposed sanctions on Israel without an EU consensus.
The Netherlands announced Monday that it would ban two far-right Israeli ministers, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, from entering the country.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the Netherlands supports suspending Israeli participation in the Horizon research program if Brussels concludes Israel is not complying with its commitments regarding humanitarian aid access to Gaza.
He added that if that is the case, the Netherlands “will also press for further European measures, for example in the realm of trade.”
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob echoed the sentiment: “We expect member states to approve the proposal to partially suspend Israel’s participation in the Horizon Europe program by a qualified majority. Slovenia will continue to advocate for more decisive measures against the Israeli government.”
In mid-July, the Slovenian government also declared Ben-Gvir and Smotrich personae non gratae, arguing the pair incite violence and serious offenses against Palestinians’ human rights with allegedly genocidal statements.
Ireland is also taking action. It is preparing legislation that would ban trade with Israeli settlements in Palestinian-occupied territories. The settlements were deemed unlawful by the International Court of Justice in an advisory opinion last year.
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