European Commission proposes partially suspending Israel from Horizon programme

The Guardian

29-07-2025

The European Commission has proposed partially suspending Israel from its flagship £80bn Horizon science research programme over what officials called a 'severe' humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
It comes amid worldwide condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza including demands by Donald Trump that it must do more to stop the 'real starvation'. On Tuesday, the leading international authority on food crises, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, said the 'worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out' in Gaza.
Horizon Europe is among the most prestigious science research programmes in the world and has never suspended a country before. Officials believe, however, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is so severe that it now has a legal basis for suspension.
In its proposal to member states the commission reports that '90% of households face severe water insecurity and malnutrition rates are rising sharply' with 'severe shortages of medicine' and 'virtually the entire Gaza population … at risk of famine'.
Israel has denied that it is the cause of starvation, blaming it on other factors including the looting of aid by Hamas and distribution failures by the UN.
It said on Tuesday that 'over 200 trucks were collected and distributed yesterday by the UN and international organisations' with an additional 260 awaiting collection and distribution.
That volume of aid is, however, still below the levels needed. Before the war, an average of 500 aid trucks a day entered Gaza, supplying a population that was not hungry, had access to decent shelter, healthcare and clean water, had a functioning economy and also had a thriving agriculture sector that contributed to food availability.
EU officials described the current aid increases as an improvement but said that they had been denied access to Gaza to verify the delivery of humanitarian aid and that there needed to be more entry points and distribution centres.
Their proposal, if approved, would deny Israel access to one of the critical research areas within the Horizon programme, called the European Innovation Council (EIC), which specialises in disruptive technologies.
Israel is one of the most successful member countries in the programme receiving about €200m (£173m) of the €900m allocated since 2021, with about €135 in grants and €65m in equity investment.
There are currently 46 Israeli companies in the EIC programme, the EU said.
The commission said in a statement: '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.'
It added that the suspension would flow from its review of the trade association agreement with Israel, prompted by calls for a review of the agreement by the Netherlands backed by 17 countries in May.
Officials said the partial suspension would be given legal effect through article 79 of the Euro-Mediterranean agreement if the action was deemed 'proportionate'.
A seven-page proposal will be put to ambassadors from member states gathering in Brussels on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the EU-US trade deal.
According to the rules the EU would need qualified majority, which means votes from about 15 member states to carry it through as long as they represent 65% of the bloc's population.
This would almost certainly mean Germany would have to support the move.
Senior EU officials said the mood at the ambassadors' meeting last week on the matter of humanitarian aid was 'heated' and there seemed to be a 'special urgency' about putting this proposal on the table.
The UK was blocked from Horizon for three years after Brexit, rejoining in 2024, but officials said this was different to a suspension.