EU Commission discusses curbs on Israel research funding amid Gaza pressure

BRUSSELS - European Commissioners on July 28 will discuss a proposal to partially suspend Israel’s access to the European Union’s Horizon research funding programme, following calls from EU governments to increase pressure on Israel over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Multiple EU countries said last week that Israel was not living up to its commitments under

an agreement with the EU

on increasing aid supplies to Gaza, and asked the commission to put concrete options on the table.

The proposal was mentioned in a published agenda of the July 28 meeting of the College of Commissioners. But the commission has not explained it in detail.

EU and Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the proposal.

Israel has been participating in the EU’s research programmes since 1996, taking part in thousands of joint research projects over the past decades.

Earlier in July, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Israel had agreed to expand humanitarian access to Gaza, including increasing the number of aid trucks, crossing points and routes to distribution hubs.

But in a tense meeting of European ambassadors in Brussels last week, countries including France, the Netherlands and Spain said not enough was being done, according to diplomats.

EU officials in July also presented a list of options that the bloc could pursue to put pressure on Israel, but the bloc has so far refrained from pursuing any of them.

Israel on July 27 announced

a halt in military operations

for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors, while Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have airdropped supplies into the enclave.

But officials and aid groups remain concerned and say much more needs to be done to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. REUTERS