Belgian university to withdraw from 5 EU education projects involving Israeli partners

Ghent University (UGent) in Belgium plans to withdraw simultaneously from five remaining EU Horizon research projects involving Israeli partners, rector Petra De Sutter said on Thursday, Belga News Agency reported.

“These are the last five major Horizon projects with Israeli partners from which UGent had previously decided to withdraw,” she noted.

Three other collaborations will expire before any formal exit procedure is completed.

De Sutter said the university will apply the same approach used in its withdrawal from the European OSTEONET project, which allowed it to exit without unilaterally terminating contracts or facing major compensation claims.

“The board of governors has said: 'We are proceeding with the withdrawal from those five projects simultaneously,'” she said.

She acknowledged that the decision has had consequences for the university, including the loss of research partnerships, funding, and PhD opportunities.

“We have already lost many partnerships,” she added.

At the same time, she underlined that not all cooperation with Israeli institutions is coming to an end.

Five remaining collaborations are considered unrelated to serious human rights violations, while four additional projects listed in the EU CORDIS database are not classified as institutional partnerships, as UGent does not directly cooperate with the Israeli partners involved.

The decision follows a board of governors meeting and comes after growing criticism over delays in implementing a withdrawal process first announced in 2024.