Israel Matzav

EU sticking to Nuremberg II, Israel to decide whether to withdraw from Horizon 2020

Prime Minister Netanyahu has convened an urgent cabinet meeting to consider whether Israel will participate in Europe's Horizon 2020 program, after the Europeans have refused to compromise on their new Nuremberg laws, which bar the transfer of any money or funds to entities beyond the Green Line, including east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

The guidelines stipulate that every agreement between the EU and Israel must include a clause saying that it is not applicable beyond the Green Line.

Israel has said it would not join the 80 billion euro program – Jerusalem would be expected to pay some 600 million euros into the project with the expectation of receiving 900m euro back in research grants and investments -- unless explicit understandings with the EU were reached on the implementation of these guidelines.

Intensive negotiations have been taking place on this matter since August.

Earlier this month Israel presented a number of compromise proposals to the EU, including one stating that while Israel accepted that the EU would not fund beyond the Green Line, it wanted to add a clause that this should not be seen as prejudging a final agreement with the Palestinians. .

Israeli officials said Monday, however, that the EU essentially told Israel that while they would like Israel's participation, the "guidelines are what they are," and that the decision to join the program was in Israel's hands. "They only showed flexibility on marginal issues," one official said, adding that a decision whether to accept the conditions had to be made at the political level.

European sources disputed this reading of the situation, saying that the EU did show "flexibility" and was looking for a "pragmatic way of implementing the agreement."

At the same time, one European source said, the EU did not want to be seen as granting a  "victory" on this matter to Netanyahu or appear to the European public as backing down from its principles.

Meanwhile, Apple Computers has agreed to pay $350 million for Israeli startup PrimeSense, the maker of motion-tracking chip technology that was used in Microsoft Corp.’s Kinect game console (Hat Tip: Lance K).

Who needs the Europeans anyway?

Labels: BDS, European anti-Semitism, European Union, Israeli high tech

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:38 PM