The Rectors of the five universities of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, united in the CRef, wish to react to the European Commission's position on EU-funded research projects that include Israeli universities. This is a crucial issue for FWB universities, which sometimes coordinate, sometimes are partners in a number of EU-funded research projects involving Israeli universities.
In fact, to date the European Commission has failed to respond substantively to the universities' queries, and leaves them entirely in charge of these delicate issues, issuing no clear recommendations or instructions on how to proceed with said research projects. In so doing, the European Commission appears to be taking no account whatsoever of the tragic situation in the Gaza Strip, nor of the actions and responsibilities of the Israeli authorities or the role that Israeli universities might have in this conflict.
The CRef believes that the various orders of the International Court of Justice on the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel, orders of January 26, March 28 and May 24, 2024) must be taken into consideration, as must their non-compliance by the State of Israel. Also to be taken into account is the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on July 19, 2024 on the Legal consequences arising from Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. In this opinion, the Court recalls that "all States are under an obligation not to recognize as lawful the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" (operative paragraph 7).
The CRef considers that, in this context, a clear stance by the European Commission is all the more indispensable and urgent as its current silence contrasts with the positions of the United Nations and takes no account whatsoever of the ICJ's rulings, nor of the dramatic situation on the ground, nor of the various provisions of the Treaties enshrining the values of the European Union, most notably the need to respect international law, as well as fundamental rights and freedoms.
The legal texts framing the various research programs (including Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of April 28, 2021 on the Horizon Europe program, especially Article 19), the grant agreements themselves, as well as the agreements organizing the EU-Israel association (including the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, especially Article 2, the Protocol to this Agreement and the Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and Israel, of the other part, concerning Israel's participation in the European Union's "Horizon Europe" framework program for research and innovation, signed on December 6, 2021) refer to ethical standards, include clauses on respect for international law and fundamental rights, or contain conditionality mechanisms. None of these international obligations have currently been implemented by the European Union's institutions, leaving the responsibility for their application to the universities, even though this is not their responsibility and puts them in an untenable situation.
