EU countries failed to agree on suspending Israel's access to the bloc’s Horizon research programme during a meeting on Tuesday (29 July), despite growing criticism over Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
But pressure is mounting. If the situation on the ground doesn’t improve, a majority of EU countries is expected to approve the first sanctions against Israel in the coming weeks, EUobserver has learned.
The proposal, presented by the European Commission on Monday, received support from a group of EU ambassadors during a technical meeting in Brussels. While some said they are still reviewing the details, they indicated they are likely to back it.
“I'm not sure that there is a qualified majority at this stage,” an EU official told EUobserver. “Too early to say”.
Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic rejected the suspension.
And a few countries, including Germany, said during the meeting that they need more time to study the details.
The proposal was not put to a vote due to procedural rules. Under EU rules, until the EU Commission publishes the proposal in all official languages, expected next week, any approval would require unanimous support.
After this step, the suspension of Israel from Horizon requires the approval by a qualified majority under EU law — meaning a majority (15 EU states), representing at least 65 percent of the bloc’s population.
The Danish EU Council presidency is expected to convene a working party group to discuss technical details in the coming days.
If there is a qualified majority, a new meeting will be convened to vote on the proposal, despite the summer recess and ahead of the informal ‘Gymnich’ of foreign affairs ministers.
The suspension follows the controversial agreement between the EU and Israel to "substantially" improve access to food and medical supplies in Gaza, which was also discussed during Tuesday's meeting, where several member states argued that "Israel is not living up to its commitments," another EU official said.
It also comes after concluding that Israel had violated Article 2 of its association agreement on human rights compliance.
In her report at the time, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas corroborated UN allegations that Israel was guilty of "indiscriminate attacks ... starvation ... torture ... [and] apartheid”.
"The humanitarian situation has deteriorated to an unprecedented and unsustainable level, driven by ongoing bombardments, military operations, mass displacement, and the collapse of basic services," the commission said, justifying the legal basis for the sanction.
The proposed Horizon suspension will cover the access of small businesses in Israel from accessing the European Innovation Council accelerator, a €10.1bn program.
Earlier this month, lawyers of the JURDI Association filed an “action for failure to act” with the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg against the EU Commission and Council for their failure to act on the crimes committed by the Israeli government in Gaza.
According to Alfonso Dorado, the lawyer who filed the complaint at the EU Court of Justice: "Nothing prevents the commission from suspending all bank transfers (credits) for this programme and others; this is done by a specific act of the commission, pending the council's decision, for example. There is no real will to do so, but the levers are there".
Meanwhile, a cross-party group of some 40 MEPs also called on Tuesday for further sanctions, including the suspension of the trade agreement with Israel and individual sanctions on Israeli officials.
“It is a moral imperative for governments and the international community to act. Silence and inaction amount to complicity,” they said.
The Netherlands on Tuesday also took domestic measures against the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, imposing travel bans on two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
“The decision is based on their repeated incitement of settler violence against Palestinians, calls for illegal settlement expansion, and advocacy for ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” explained Dutch foreign affairs minister Caspar Veldkamp in a letter to the parliament on Monday.
An internal EU commission report, seen by EUobserver, says that over 1,060 Palestinians have been killed while trying to access food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) between 27 May and 21 July, while child malnutrition rates have nearly quadrupled.
It is estimated that over 59,200 Palestinians have been killed and more than 143,000 injured since October 2023 — averaging one death every 12 minutes and over 119 deaths daily in July alone.
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Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.
Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.