A European Commission proposal to deny Israel partial access to the EU’s €95 billion Horizon Europe research fund failed to garner the necessary qualified majority support when EU ambassadors met in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the issue.
If agreed, Israel would lose access to €200 millions’ worth of future grants and investments in Horizon’s European Investment Council (EIC) which specialises in so-called disruptive technologies.
But representatives from Berlin and Rome said they need to examine Commission’s proposition further. For a qualified majority vote to pass the population weight of either Italy or Germany is required.
“Germany wanted to continue dialogue with Israel as opposed to taking action – but we all know the dialogue is not working,” a source at the meeting told Euronews.
Another diplomat said Germany, which has opposed any sanction against Israel, was now “holding the cards” in relation to the decision.
Both Germany and Italy said they needed more time and would let the EU know if they come to a different position in the coming weeks, according to two sources familiar.
Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechia were opposed to taking any action, according to the sources.
The Netherlands, Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Portugal, Malta and Spain all supported the Commission’s plan with several saying they would also push the EU for stronger sanctions, potentially in trade, the sources said.
The Commission’s motion to suspend Israel’s participation in Horizon is in response to an EU report finding the country had breached human rights obligations in the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
After this finding the two sides came to an agreement that Israel would “substantially” increase access to civilians for food and medicine within the enclave to prevent the EU taking action for the breach.
However, the EU says there has been no material improvement for Palestinians, and according to EU sources, the EU has not been able to independently verify the claims from Israel that it is allowing more trucks of aid to reach the starving population.
EU officials have so far been prevented from going into Gaza to make their own assessment of the situation.
“I didn’t receive any convincing explanation as to why I couldn’t go into Gaza,” a senior official said.
Meanwhile, the UN and other agencies say humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza worsens by the day, and over 130 people have died from hunger alone; 88 of them children and infants.
On Monday, two prominent Israeli NGO’s B’Tselem, and Physicians for Human Rights, Israel, issued a report claiming Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
As ambassadors met on Tuesday, the death toll for the entire war hit over 60,000 people according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health ministry.
81 people were killed by Israel on Tuesday alone; 32 while seeking aid, the ministry said.
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