Overview

• At an informal ministers’ meeting in Copenhagen, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Germany will not back the Commission’s proposal to partially suspend Israel’s participation in Horizon Europe.
• Berlin points to its own restrictions on weapons deliveries that could be used in Gaza as a more targeted response to Israel’s campaign.
• The Commission plan would exclude selected Israeli entities from European Innovation Council funding—hitting start-ups in cyber, drones and AI—while keeping academic cooperation intact and citing alleged breaches of human rights and humanitarian law.
• EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she is not very optimistic the currently “quite lenient” proposal can secure sufficient backing.
• Approval requires a qualified majority in the Council, and diplomats say support from Germany or Italy is pivotal as member states remain split, with Hungary blocking measures targeting settlers.