Israel’s participation in the EU’s 93.5 billion euro Horizon Europe research and innovation programme has halved since it began in 2021, data for 2025 shows, as the country’s wars on Iran and Lebanon have triggered fresh calls for the bloc to cut scientific links.
Last summer, following Israel’s blockade and bombardment of Gaza, the European Commission recommended blocking the country from European Innovation Council Accelerator grants, which give firms up to 2.5 million euros to develop close-to-market technologies or products.
But due to opposition from some EU states, most notably Germany, the bloc failed to pass any scientific sanctions. A partial ceasefire in Gaza then lowered the diplomatic temperature, until Israel’s join attack with the US on Iran and its invasion of Lebanon in February.
However, even without any formal scientific sanctions, Israeli participation in Horizon Europe roughly halved last year, according to an analysis of Commission data by Science|Business.
“It’s undoubtedly related to the issue of boycotts,” said Emmanuel Nahshon, head of a task force set up by the Association of University Heads, Israel (Vera), to combat boycotts.
For Horizon Europe overall just 2.5% of projects signed in 2025 involved an Israeli partner. That’s down from 5.4% in 2022, the first full year of the programme.
Precisely what has caused the decline is unclear. Following the Hamas attacks of October 2023, Israeli science was disrupted as researchers were drafted into the army for an invasion of Gaza.
To cope with the disruption, the EU extended call deadlines, but this turmoil, in addition to interruptions to flights, may have made building consortia and applying for EU funding more difficult for Israeli scholars.
What’s more, the UK and Switzerland rejoined the programme as associated countries in 2024 and 2025 respectively, intensifying competition for grants. This could also have nudged down Israeli participation.
However, boycotts may also explain the drop. Universities across Europe, including in Belgium, the Netherlands, and particularly Spain, have announced public boycotts in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Early data from preprints last September suggests that European academics are increasingly reluctant to collaborate, particular in countries like Spain where institutional and government criticism of Israel has been strongest.
David Harel, president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, said the drop in Horizon Europe participation was “probably a combination” of disruption to Israeli science, competition from the UK and Switzerland, and European boycotts. Nahshon agrees.
Source and full article: Science|Business