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Europe’s Biggest Research Question Is No Longer Just About Science
Europe is approaching a defining decision about the future of research, innovation and technological competitiveness. As the European Union prepares its next major research and innovation framework for 2028–2034, one increasingly controversial question is whether Israel should remain fully integrated into European research programmes.
The debate is deeply political, particularly because of the war in Gaza and the European Union’s growing disagreement over the Israeli government’s policies. But beneath the political argument lies another question that could have consequences lasting far beyond the current conflict: Can Europe afford to weaken scientific partnerships with one of the world’s most research-intensive and technologically ambitious countries?
Carsten Ovens argues in a Euronews opinion article that the answer should be no. In his view, Israel’s continued participation in the European Research Area is not simply a diplomatic preference. It is an investment in Europe’s own scientific capabilities, universities, technology companies and long-term competitiveness.
The argument comes at a critical moment. Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme, has been designed around international cooperation and scientific excellence. Approximately €95 billion was allocated for the 2021–2027 period, bringing universities, research institutions, companies and researchers together across borders.
Now Europe is preparing the next framework programme, commonly referred to as FP10, which is expected to guide research and innovation policy from 2028 through 2034. The rules established during this process could determine whether international scientific cooperation remains insulated from political disputes—or becomes increasingly vulnerable to them.
Horizon Europe Was Built Around Excellence
At the heart of Horizon Europe is a straightforward principle: research funding should primarily follow scientific excellence, innovation potential and the ability to deliver meaningful results.
That principle becomes much harder to defend when political disagreements begin determining who is allowed to participate.
The debate surrounding Israel demonstrates how quickly scientific cooperation can become entangled with foreign policy. In 2025, the European Commission proposed restricting Israeli start-ups from participating in the European Innovation Council Accelerator, an instrument designed to help innovative companies develop disruptive technologies and bring them toward commercialisation.
The proposal was particularly significant because Israeli participation in other Horizon Europe projects was initially expected to remain largely unaffected. Restricting Israeli companies from a major innovation mechanism would therefore have represented a notable departure from the traditional separation between scientific cooperation and political disputes.
The Israeli Exclusion Proposal Faced Political Resistance
The proposed restrictions did not secure the necessary support among EU member states.
Germany and Italy called for additional examination, while several Central and Eastern European governments opposed the measure. Other governments, including France, the Netherlands and Spain, argued that Europe should take stronger action given the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Spain and Ireland had already pushed for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and later advocated broader restrictions on cooperation.
The proposal was subsequently put on hold, but the underlying political dispute has not disappeared. Every new escalation in the Middle East has the potential to reopen the question.
That creates an uncomfortable situation for European policymakers: the EU is simultaneously preparing a seven-year research strategy and debating whether political circumstances should influence which international partners can participate.
FP10 Could Become a Turning Point
The next framework programme will cover 2028 through 2034, making it far more consequential than a temporary funding decision.
FP10 will help determine how Europe competes in areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum computing, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and other strategic technologies.
The decision regarding Israel therefore has implications beyond Israel itself.
If European policymakers establish a precedent whereby participation in scientific programmes can be restricted because of disagreements with a partner government’s policies, other international partnerships could eventually face similar political uncertainty.
That could make long-term research cooperation more difficult.
Israel Is More Than a Funding Recipient
One of the central arguments for continued cooperation is that Israel does not simply participate in Horizon Europe as a recipient of European funding.
Israeli universities, research institutions and companies operate inside multinational research networks involving European partners.
These collaborations can involve intellectual property, specialist laboratories, clinical datasets, engineering capabilities, experimental infrastructure and highly specialised researchers.
Removing an Israeli partner from a multinational project could therefore create consequences throughout the entire consortium.
A European research team could suddenly lose access to a technology developed by its Israeli partner. A company could have to find another testing environment. Researchers could need to redistribute work packages. A clinical project could face delays. A promising technology could lose momentum.
The impact would not necessarily appear as a dramatic headline.
Instead, it could emerge through delays, higher costs, lost expertise and abandoned research opportunities.
Europe Could End Up Paying the Price
This is one of the strongest points in the argument presented by Ovens.
If an Israeli research partner is removed from a European consortium, the consequences do not remain in Israel. European universities, laboratories and companies participating in the same project may also be affected.
Research institutions in countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Belgium and Poland could find themselves restructuring projects that were originally designed around Israeli expertise.
That could mean additional administrative costs and delays at a time when European research institutions are already competing for limited resources.
For Europe, the question is therefore not simply whether Israel benefits from participation.
The more important question is whether Europe benefits from keeping the partnership intact.
Israel’s Research Intensity Makes the Partnership Strategic
Israel has developed an unusually strong research and technology ecosystem.
Its investment in research and development has historically been among the highest in the world relative to GDP. That investment has helped create an environment where universities, defence-related technology, start-ups, multinational corporations and venture capital frequently interact.
This ecosystem has produced major advances in cybersecurity, medical technology, agriculture, artificial intelligence, water management and other technology-intensive fields.
For European researchers, access to that ecosystem can provide opportunities that are difficult to reproduce through domestic programmes alone.
For European companies, collaboration can also provide access to new technologies and specialised engineering talent.
Israeli Start-Ups Are Part of Europe’s Innovation Equation
The debate becomes particularly important when looking at the European Innovation Council Accelerator.
Israeli companies have performed strongly in European innovation funding, particularly in deep-tech sectors where commercialising research can require substantial capital and long development cycles.
These companies are often working on technologies that Europe itself identifies as strategically important.
Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, medical devices and advanced engineering are not niche industries anymore. They are central to economic competitiveness and national resilience.
Restricting participation from companies operating at the technological frontier could therefore create a contradiction in European policy.
Europe wants to become more competitive in strategic technologies while potentially limiting cooperation with an ecosystem that is particularly strong in several of those same fields.
Collaboration Can Turn Research Into Real Products
One of Israel’s notable strengths is the connection between academic research and commercial innovation.
Institutions such as the Technion, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have contributed to research that can eventually become patents, start-ups, commercial products and industrial applications.
That transition—from scientific discovery to usable technology—is one of Europe’s persistent challenges.
European policymakers frequently discuss the need to close the gap between research excellence and commercialisation.
International partnerships can be one way of doing that.
If Israeli researchers and companies are helping European partners move discoveries toward practical applications, removing them could make that process more difficult rather than easier.
Cancer Research Shows What Cooperation Can Achieve
Medical research provides one of the clearest examples of why international scientific collaboration matters.
Researchers in Europe and Israel work across areas including personalised medicine, cancer research, biotechnology and clinical innovation.
Cancer does not recognise national borders.
Neither does scientific knowledge.
A breakthrough developed by researchers in one country can improve treatment possibilities in another. A dataset collected through an international collaboration can accelerate research elsewhere. A technology developed by a start-up can eventually become part of a healthcare system thousands of kilometres away.
This is why political decisions affecting scientific networks can have consequences that are difficult to measure immediately.
Water and Agriculture Are Equally Strategic
Israel’s expertise is not limited to medicine or technology.
Water efficiency, irrigation, agricultural technology and environmental innovation have become major areas of Israeli research and commercial expertise.
For Europe, these technologies are becoming increasingly important as climate pressures, drought risks and agricultural challenges intensify.
European researchers working with Israeli specialists can exchange knowledge about water conservation, precision agriculture and resilient food systems.
A partnership that helps address these challenges has value beyond the political relationship between governments.
Cybersecurity Makes the Partnership Even More Important
Cybersecurity is another area where cooperation can have strategic consequences.
European governments, companies and infrastructure operators face increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The digitalisation of healthcare, transportation, energy, manufacturing and government services has expanded the potential attack surface.
Israel has developed a globally recognised cybersecurity ecosystem, supported by universities, specialised research and a large technology sector.
European organisations can benefit from that expertise.
At the same time, European researchers and companies bring their own capabilities to multinational projects.
The relationship is therefore not necessarily one-directional.
Quantum Technology Could Define the Next Decade
Quantum computing and quantum communications are expected to become increasingly important during the period covered by FP10.
The field remains technically challenging, expensive and highly competitive.
Europe is investing heavily in quantum technologies because policymakers increasingly view them as strategically important to future computing, communications and security.
Maintaining access to international research networks could help European institutions move faster.
If political uncertainty causes highly specialised researchers and companies to withdraw from joint projects, Europe could lose opportunities that take years to rebuild.
Artificial Intelligence Changes the Stakes
Artificial intelligence makes the debate even more urgent.
The global competition over AI is increasingly concentrated around the United States, China and a small number of technologically advanced ecosystems.
Europe has world-class universities and researchers, but it faces challenges in scaling AI companies, attracting capital and converting research into globally dominant products.
Israel has developed significant expertise in AI, cybersecurity, data science and deep-tech entrepreneurship.
For Europe, maintaining strong links with such an ecosystem could complement its own strengths.
The question is therefore not whether Europe should choose Israel over Europe.
It is whether Europe should use international partnerships to strengthen Europe.
The Political Argument Cannot Simply Be Ignored
However, the case for scientific cooperation does not eliminate the political controversy.
Criticism of the Israeli government is legitimate within democratic debate, and European governments have a responsibility to respond to humanitarian crises.
The difficult question is where policymakers should draw the line between political pressure and scientific cooperation.
There is a fundamental difference between imposing targeted political or economic measures and restricting ordinary researchers, universities and scientific collaborations.
A policy can be morally motivated while still producing unintended consequences.
That possibility deserves serious consideration.
Researchers Are Not Governments
One of the most important distinctions in this debate is the difference between governments and scientific communities.
An Israeli scientist is not automatically responsible for decisions made by the Israeli government.
A university researcher may spend years studying cancer, quantum physics or water management without having any connection to foreign-policy decisions.
Similarly, European researchers participating in an international project are generally trying to solve scientific problems rather than negotiate diplomatic disputes.
Treating scientific collaboration as an extension of government policy risks punishing people who have little or no influence over political decisions.
Europe Must Decide What Its Research Programmes Are For
FP10 presents Europe with a philosophical choice.
Should European research programmes primarily function as scientific and economic instruments?
Or should they increasingly become tools of foreign policy?
There may be circumstances in which those objectives overlap.
But if political eligibility becomes unpredictable, researchers and companies could begin to question whether European funding programmes are reliable enough for long-term projects.
Research requires stability.
Large scientific projects can take five, seven or even ten years to mature.
Scientists cannot easily build such projects if the rules can change whenever geopolitical tensions rise.
Predictability Is a Competitive Advantage
Scientific excellence alone does not make a research system successful.
Researchers also need predictable funding, stable institutions and international access.
Companies need confidence that partnerships will remain viable throughout a technology’s development cycle.
Universities need to know that international projects will not suddenly become politically impossible.
Europe can therefore strengthen its position simply by becoming a more predictable partner.
If FP10 establishes clear and consistent rules for international participation, European researchers could plan collaborations with greater confidence.
The Risk of Fragmentation
One potential consequence of political restrictions is fragmentation.
Instead of multinational research teams sharing knowledge, researchers may begin working inside separate political or technological blocs.
That would be particularly damaging in fields where expertise is distributed globally.
No single country has all the necessary knowledge to solve every major technological challenge.
Artificial intelligence requires computing, mathematics, software engineering and data science.
Biotechnology requires biology, chemistry, medicine, engineering and clinical research.
Quantum technology requires physics, materials science, computing and advanced manufacturing.
International collaboration allows these disciplines to interact across borders.
Europe Cannot Afford to Lose Momentum
The timing matters.
The next decade could determine which regions dominate emerging technologies.
The United States has enormous private-sector investment and some of the world’s largest technology companies.
China is investing aggressively in AI, manufacturing, quantum technology and strategic infrastructure.
Europe is trying to build a competitive alternative based on scientific excellence, regulation, industrial capacity and international cooperation.
In that environment, voluntarily reducing access to a highly innovative partner could prove costly.
The Economic Cost Could Be Difficult to See
The economic impact of exclusion would not necessarily appear as a simple figure on an EU balance sheet.
The cost could emerge through delayed projects, fewer patents, missed start-up investments, slower product development and weaker research networks.
A research partnership that never happens is difficult to quantify.
A technology that is not developed is even harder to measure.
Yet opportunity costs can be just as important as direct financial losses.
Scientific Diplomacy Can Outlast Political Crises
International scientific collaboration has historically served as a bridge between societies experiencing political disagreements.
Researchers can continue communicating even when governments struggle to do so.
Universities can maintain relationships that survive changes in leadership.
Scientific projects can create practical interests in cooperation.
That does not mean science should be used to ignore serious political disagreements.
It means scientific cooperation can sometimes provide one of the few remaining channels through which people continue working together.
Europe Needs Clear Rules Rather Than Permanent Uncertainty
If European governments ultimately decide that certain restrictions are necessary, they should establish clear criteria.
Those rules should ideally distinguish between government institutions, private companies, universities, individual researchers and projects with specific security implications.
A blanket approach could create consequences far beyond the original political objective.
Clear rules would also make European research policy more predictable for international partners.
The Israel Question Could Set a Larger Precedent
The decision involving Israel may eventually be remembered for reasons that go beyond Israel.
If the EU establishes a precedent for excluding a high-performing research partner because of political disputes with its government, future policymakers may face pressure to apply similar logic elsewhere.
That could transform research programmes into instruments of geopolitical alignment.
Such a transformation would fundamentally change the nature of European scientific cooperation.
Europe’s Strategic Autonomy Requires Partnerships
Strategic autonomy is often interpreted as becoming less dependent on other countries.
But technological independence does not necessarily mean isolation.
A more realistic approach is to build resilient networks of trusted partners.
Europe can strengthen domestic capabilities while maintaining international research cooperation.
The objective should be to reduce dangerous dependencies while preserving beneficial partnerships.
Israel can potentially form part of that broader strategy.
The Human Dimension Matters
Behind every research project are scientists, engineers, students and entrepreneurs.
They spend years developing expertise.
A political decision can disrupt collaborations that took decades to build.
Young researchers may lose access to laboratories.
Students may lose international opportunities.
Start-ups may lose European partners.
Universities may have to replace collaborators.
These consequences are rarely visible when policy debates focus exclusively on governments.
The Strongest European Response May Be Engagement
Europe does not have to choose between political principles and scientific cooperation in every circumstance.
It can maintain political pressure while preserving channels for scientific collaboration where appropriate.
That approach may offer greater long-term influence than isolation.
Engagement creates relationships.
Relationships create communication.
Communication can sometimes create opportunities for resolving disagreements.
FP10 Should Protect Scientific Excellence
The fundamental question for FP10 should be whether the programme can help Europe become more innovative, competitive and resilient.
If scientific excellence is genuinely one of its defining principles, international participation should be assessed through transparent and consistent criteria.
Israel should not receive special treatment simply because it is Israel.
But neither should it be excluded simply because European governments disagree with its government.
The same principle should apply to other international partners.
Europe’s Universities Should Have a Voice
European policymakers should also consider what their own universities and research institutions need.
Universities are increasingly dependent on international partnerships to access specialist knowledge, equipment, datasets and researchers.
Before imposing restrictions, governments should examine how those decisions affect domestic institutions.
A foreign-policy decision can become a university funding problem surprisingly quickly.
European Businesses Face the Same Calculation
The private sector has similar concerns.
European companies collaborate with Israeli firms in areas ranging from technology and cybersecurity to healthcare and engineering.
Large multinational corporations have established research operations in Israel because they see value in the country’s technology ecosystem.
Disrupting those connections could affect European innovation as well as Israeli companies.
The Debate Should Focus on Consequences
A mature policy debate should ask three questions.
What political objective would an exclusion achieve?
What measurable benefit would it produce?
And what scientific, economic and strategic costs would Europe incur?
Without clear answers to those questions, exclusion risks becoming symbolic rather than effective.
Symbolic policies can generate headlines.
They do not necessarily generate solutions.
Europe’s Future Competitiveness Is the Bigger Picture
The debate over Israeli participation is ultimately part of a much larger European challenge.
Europe wants to remain a global scientific power while competing against enormous technological ecosystems.
It wants stronger AI capabilities.
It wants leadership in biotechnology.
It wants competitive quantum technology.
It wants resilient digital infrastructure.
It wants more successful deep-tech companies.
Achieving those goals will require cooperation rather than isolation.
Israel’s Role Should Be Judged by European Interests
The argument for continued Israeli participation is therefore fundamentally pragmatic.
Europe does not need to endorse every decision of the Israeli government to recognise the value of Israeli researchers, universities and technology companies.
Likewise, maintaining scientific cooperation does not require European governments to abandon their political positions.
These issues can coexist.
The Decision Will Echo Until 2034
The rules established for FP10 will influence
That is long enough for entire technology sectors to change.
Researchers who begin projects in 2028 could still be working on them in the early 2030s.
Start-ups funded during that period could become major companies.
Scientific collaborations created during those years could produce technologies that shape European healthcare, industry and security.
That makes the decision about international participation far more important than a temporary diplomatic disagreement.
A Choice Between Isolation and Innovation
Europe now faces a difficult balancing act.
It must respond to geopolitical crises and humanitarian concerns while protecting the scientific networks that support its future.
Excluding Israeli researchers or companies may offer political leverage, but it could also weaken European research institutions and businesses.
Maintaining cooperation, meanwhile, does not mean ignoring political disagreements.
It means recognising that scientific ecosystems are larger than governments.
What Undercode Say:
Europe Should Think Beyond the Current Crisis
The most important issue is not whether European governments approve of Israel’s policies today. The more important question is whether Europe is building a research system capable of competing through 2034.
Political Pressure Has Consequences
European governments have every right to debate sanctions and diplomatic measures, but scientific restrictions should be evaluated separately because their consequences can extend into universities, hospitals and private companies.
Research Does Not Follow Borders
Modern research increasingly depends on international networks. Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum science and cybersecurity require expertise distributed across multiple countries.
Israel Represents a Strategic Technology Ecosystem
Israel’s technology sector has developed significant strengths in areas that Europe itself considers strategically important. Cutting those links could therefore create a contradiction within Europe’s own innovation strategy.
Europe Needs More Innovation, Not Fewer Partnerships
If European policymakers are serious about competing with the United States and China, they should maximise access to high-quality research networks rather than unnecessarily shrinking them.
The EIC Debate Reveals a Larger Problem
The controversy over Israeli start-ups demonstrates how easily innovation policy can become entangled with foreign policy. Once that happens, companies can face uncertainty that has little connection to their scientific or commercial performance.
Scientific Cooperation Can Be a Form of Stability
When political relationships deteriorate, universities and researchers can sometimes preserve communication. Ending those connections can remove one of the few channels through which cooperation survives.
Humanitarian Concerns Still Matter
Defending scientific cooperation should not be interpreted as dismissing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. European governments can condemn policies they oppose while carefully considering whether scientific restrictions actually achieve their intended objectives.
Blanket Restrictions Are Usually Blunt Instruments
A policy that treats governments, universities, private companies and individual scientists as interchangeable can produce unintended consequences.
The Best Policy May Be Selective and Transparent
If restrictions are considered necessary, they should be based on clear criteria tied to security, legal obligations or specific risks rather than constantly changing political pressure.
Europe Should Protect Research Predictability
Researchers plan projects years in advance. Stable rules allow them to build laboratories, hire staff and develop multinational consortia. Political uncertainty makes all of those activities more difficult.
The Cost of Lost Collaboration Is Real
A cancelled research project may never produce a patent, treatment or commercial product. That lost opportunity may not appear in government statistics, but it still represents an economic cost.
Europe Has a Commercialisation Problem
European research institutions produce outstanding science, but Europe has historically struggled to turn enough research into globally dominant companies. Partnerships with strong start-up ecosystems can help close that gap.
Israel Can Complement European Strengths
The relationship does not have to be viewed as Europe receiving something from Israel. European researchers, companies and institutions also contribute knowledge, funding and markets.
Cooperation Should Be Measured by Results
The strongest justification for continued participation is not political loyalty. It is measurable scientific, technological and economic value.
FP10 Should Avoid Short-Term Thinking
A seven-year programme should not be redesigned around temporary political pressures. Its framework should be capable of surviving changes in governments and geopolitical circumstances.
Europe Needs Strategic Partners
Strategic autonomy should not mean isolation. Europe can strengthen its own capabilities while maintaining research relationships with technologically advanced partners.
AI Makes International Cooperation More Valuable
AI development is moving quickly. Losing access to specialised talent and research networks could widen Europe’s competitiveness gap.
Cybersecurity Is a Shared European Concern
Cyber threats cross national borders, making international research cooperation especially important for defending digital infrastructure.
Biotechnology Requires Global Knowledge
Medical breakthroughs often depend on international data, research teams and clinical collaboration. Fragmenting these networks can slow innovation.
Quantum Technology Rewards Collaboration
Quantum research is expensive and technically demanding. International expertise can help reduce duplication and accelerate discovery.
Water Innovation Has Global Importance
Europe faces growing environmental pressures. Israeli expertise in water efficiency and agriculture can complement European research into climate resilience.
Scientific Diplomacy Has Long-Term Value
Researchers can maintain relationships even when political relationships become difficult. Those relationships can later become important diplomatic bridges.
Europe Should Ask What It Loses
Before excluding a partner, policymakers should calculate not only the political benefits but also the scientific and economic opportunities that could disappear.
Universities Could Carry the Burden
European research institutions may be forced to redesign projects, find replacements and absorb additional administrative costs if international partners are removed.
Businesses Could Face Similar Disruption
Companies depending on Israeli technology, research and investment relationships could face higher costs or slower innovation.
The Decision Could Influence Future Partnerships
The precedent established by FP10 may influence how Europe handles scientific cooperation with other politically controversial countries.
Scientific Excellence Needs Consistency
If excellence is a core European principle, eligibility rules should be predictable and applied consistently.
Political Accountability Still Has a Place
Scientific openness does not mean governments must abandon diplomatic pressure. The two policies can operate simultaneously.
Researchers Should Not Become Political Proxies
Individual scientists should not automatically be treated as representatives of national governments.
Young Scientists Could Be Among the Biggest Losers
Students and early-career researchers often depend most heavily on international programmes for access to laboratories, mentors and networks.
The Innovation Ecosystem Is Connected
A university partnership can lead to a patent, which can create a start-up, which can attract investment and eventually create jobs. Disrupting one part can affect the entire chain.
Europe Cannot Predict Every Breakthrough
The greatest value of international research is often discovered after cooperation begins. Policymakers should therefore be cautious about eliminating opportunities before their potential becomes visible.
Isolation Rarely Creates Innovation
Technology ecosystems become stronger when knowledge moves between institutions and countries.
Cooperation Does Not Equal Political Endorsement
This distinction should remain central to the debate. Scientific partnership can coexist with political disagreement.
FP10 Is a Strategic Test
The programme will reveal whether Europe sees research primarily as a political instrument or as a foundation for long-term competitiveness.
Europe Has More to Gain From Engagement
If the objective is technological leadership, maintaining strong research connections is likely to offer more practical value than creating unnecessary barriers.
The 2034 Question Starts Now
The decisions made before FP10 begins could determine which partnerships are available throughout the following seven years.
Europe Should Choose Long-Term Capacity
The strongest policy is one that protects European research capacity while allowing governments to respond to legitimate political and security concerns through targeted measures.
The Bottom Line
Europe’s scientific future should not be decided solely by the political temperature of the moment. If Israeli participation provides meaningful value to European universities, companies and researchers, policymakers should think carefully before dismantling those connections.
✅ Horizon Europe Is the EU’s Major Research Programme
Horizon Europe is the European Union’s flagship research and innovation framework for 2021–2027, with a budget in the roughly €95 billion range when the programme’s overall financial structure is considered.
⚠️ Israel’s Funding Position Requires Context
The
⚠️ Political Exclusion Claims Need Ongoing Verification
The proposal concerning Israeli participation in the European Innovation Council and the status of EU-Israel cooperation are politically sensitive and can change as member states negotiate. Individual claims about votes, proposals and implementation should therefore be checked against the latest EU documentation before being treated as final policy.
Deep Analysis
Command 1: Separate Governments From Researchers
The first analytical step is to distinguish government policy from scientific activity. Researchers and universities cannot automatically be treated as extensions of national governments.
Command 2: Measure the Economic Opportunity Cost
Any exclusion should be evaluated by calculating the projects, investments, patents, companies and research capacity that Europe could potentially lose.
Command 3: Examine Europe’s Technology Gap
Europe’s competitiveness in AI, quantum computing and biotechnology should be considered before restricting access to high-performing international ecosystems.
Command 4: Evaluate Scientific Dependencies
European policymakers should identify projects where Israeli expertise, equipment, datasets or intellectual property is difficult to replace.
Command 5: Test the Policy Against Its Objective
If the objective is political pressure, policymakers should ask whether restricting research cooperation actually changes government behaviour.
Command 6: Compare Alternative Measures
Targeted diplomatic or economic measures may sometimes achieve political objectives without disrupting unrelated scientific collaborations.
Command 7: Examine the Precedent
Any decision regarding Israel could become a template for future research restrictions involving other countries.
Command 8: Protect Long-Term Research Planning
FP10 should provide researchers with rules that are predictable enough to support projects lasting several years.
Command 9: Preserve European Innovation Capacity
Europe should ensure that political measures do not accidentally weaken the universities and companies that policymakers are simultaneously trying to strengthen.
Command 10: Keep Scientific Excellence Central
The final test should remain whether the European research system is becoming more capable, competitive and innovative.
Prediction
(+1) Israel Is Likely to Remain Important to European Innovation
Even if political disputes continue, the strategic value of Israeli research capabilities in AI, cybersecurity, biotechnology, agriculture and other technologies makes complete scientific disengagement difficult to sustain.
(+1) FP10 Will Probably Favour More Structured International Cooperation
Europe has strong incentives to expand international research networks as technological competition intensifies. Clearer eligibility rules could become more important than ad hoc decisions driven by individual political crises.
(+1) Research Partnerships Will Become More Strategic
As AI, quantum computing, biotechnology and cybersecurity become national-security priorities, research cooperation will increasingly be viewed as part of Europe’s broader economic and technological strategy.
(-1) Political Pressure Could Continue to Threaten Cooperation
If the conflict in Gaza remains a major source of tension, Israeli participation could continue to face periodic political challenges even if broad exclusion is avoided.
(+1) The Strongest Outcome Could Be Selective Cooperation
Europe may ultimately seek a middle path: maintaining broad scientific cooperation while applying targeted restrictions where specific legal, security or political criteria are met.
(+1) Europe’s Long-Term Interest Favors Maintaining Research Networks
If Europe wants to compete globally through 2034, preserving access to strong international technology ecosystems is likely to remain a strategic advantage rather than a liability.
Final Perspective
The debate over Israel and
It is about what Europe believes scientific cooperation is supposed to accomplish.
If research programmes exist to strengthen knowledge, innovation and competitiveness, then their rules should be designed around those objectives. If they increasingly become instruments of foreign policy, researchers and companies may face a much more uncertain environment.
Europe can condemn policies it considers unacceptable while maintaining scientific relationships that benefit European citizens. It can defend humanitarian principles without automatically severing every academic and technological connection.
The coming FP10 negotiations therefore represent a major opportunity to establish a durable framework.
For Europe, the strategic calculation is straightforward: the next seven years will be defined by fierce competition in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum technology, cybersecurity and advanced industry. In that environment, the continent will need more capable partners, more researchers, more innovation and more connections—not fewer.
The ultimate question is not whether Europe agrees with every decision made by Israel.
The question is whether Europe is willing to weaken its own scientific ecosystem when the global technology race is accelerating.
If the goal is a stronger, more innovative and more competitive Europe by 2034, maintaining productive international research partnerships could prove to be one of the continent’s most important investments.
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