Israel will take part in Horizon 2020
Israel and the EU have come to a decisive agreement guaranteeing the former's eligibility to Horizon 2020 funding. After months of intense negotiations, Israel finally accepted the EU's terms according to which participants operating in Jewish settlements will not be allowed to apply for funding. The deal had first been jeopardized when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the restrictions - which followed an EU announcement that it would bar financial assistance to any Israeli organization operating in the West Bank from 2014 - were unacceptable. The Israeli government threatened not to participate in Horizon 2020, before backing down earlier this week. 'Both sides understand that the other side has a different position on the politics, but there is an understanding that there is a mutual interest to cooperate in the issues of science and technologies,' an Israeli official said. The EU prohibition of funds for groups in occupied territories will be referenced in an appendix to the deal, while Israel will add its own appendix stating it does not recognize the new guidelines. Israeli companies and organizations that have operations on occupied land will be able to request funds, provided that the money does not cross the pre-1967 border. 'The agreement fully respects the EU's financial requirements while at the same time respecting Israel's political sensitivities and preserving its principled positions,' said a joint statement by EU High Commissioner Catherine Ashton and Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. Horizon 2020's 70 billion euros of research funding are essential to Israel, with the science and technology ministry fearing the dispute would have resulted in Israel's research funding being cut by 40%. EUR 634 million of funding went to Israel under FP7.For more information, please visit:Horizon 2020http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm
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Israel