Israeli tech and academia could be hurt by a new move in Brussels. According to Calcalist, left-wing groups in the European Parliament are working to insert a clause into the EU's next research program that would bar countries that violated the Genocide Convention. According to the report, the aim is to exclude Israel from the Horizon program, and the Parliament plenary is expected to consider the proposal on November 23.
Horizon is the world's largest research and innovation program, with a budget of tens of billions of euros. Israel has participated as an associated country for decades, and Israeli researchers, universities and startups win grants through it, collaborate with leading European institutions and gain access to research infrastructure. For some deep-tech, health and climate startups, European grants are a significant source of early-stage funding.
It is not the first attempt to limit Israel's participation, and the outcome depends on the Parliament vote and on negotiations with member states and the European Commission. Even if the Parliament approves the clause, it won't necessarily make it into the program's final text.
For Israeli tech, the significance goes beyond the money itself. Access to European research is part of Israel's advantage as an innovation hub, and exclusion could accelerate the departure of researchers and scientists abroad, a trend already worrying the industry. The move adds to recent concerns in the tech sector about Israel's economic isolation.
