This week, the Flemish universities, through the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR), lodged a complaint against the European Commission with the European Ombudsman. The complaint was prompted by the Commission’s persistent failure to provide clear answers and guidance regarding the participation of Israeli institutions in the European research programme Horizon Europe. Despite repeated requests from VLIR and its French-speaking counterpart CRef, the European Commission has failed to provide the necessary clarification.

Flemish universities are regularly confronted with fundamental questions concerning the compatibility of their research collaborations with international law and their commitments to human rights. In recent years, they have invested significantly in developing procedures and tools, including an interuniversity human rights assessment framework and the further strengthening of ethics committees within individual universities. At European level, however, a clear and practical framework is still lacking to translate the outcomes of these assessments into concrete decisions within Horizon Europe.

Bernard Vanheusden, President of VLIR, stated: “Since May 2024, we have repeatedly asked the European Commission for clarification. However, the Commission’s responses have remained limited to generic references to existing rules and procedures, without providing concrete guidance, criteria or justification. As a result, universities seeking to terminate research collaborations due to the risk of human rights violations face considerable legal uncertainty and potential financial penalties.”

Through its complaint to the European Ombudsman, VLIR calls on the European Commission to finally assume its responsibilities and provide clarity on the following essential questions:

• How does the European Commission apply its obligations under international law to the participation of Israeli institutions in Horizon Europe?
• What specific criteria does the Commission use to assess research institutions and collaborative projects for their potential involvement in, or risk of contributing to, human rights violations?
• Under what conditions can universities terminate research collaborations on human rights grounds without facing significant legal uncertainty or disproportionate financial consequences?

Koen Verlaeckt, Secretary General of VLIR, emphasised: “The Flemish universities are not calling for the exclusion of institutions on the basis of nationality, but for a transparent, independent and legally sound assessment framework. They want to be able to fulfil their international responsibilities consistently and with legal certainty, while upholding human rights, international law and academic freedom.”