European Union

The Action Plan concluded under the European Neighbourhood Policy with Israel helped give new energy and focus to EU-Israel relations. Its objective is to gradually integrate Israel into European policies and programmes. Every step taken is determined by both sides and the Action Plan is tailor-made to reflect Israel’s interests and priorities as well as its level of development.

Israel benefits from the European Neighbourhood & Partnership Instrument (ENPI), the financial instrument which supports the European Neighbourhood policy through concrete assistance actions. For the first time, in July 2008, the EU and Israel signed a financing agreement to allow support for Israel under the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan.  The EU has allocated a total of €14 million for the period 2007-2013 to support such activities.

Most of this funding covers the Twinning and the TAIEX instruments which are tools for cooperation between a public administration in an EU Member State and the equivalent institution in Israel. In Twinning, experts from the EU Member States work in Israel with their Israeli counterparts on long term projects whose goal is to upgrade the existing administration and bring Israeli legislation closer to European legislation. TAIEX is used for shorter term projects such as expert seminars and workshops.  Since 2006 some 80 TAIEX seminars have been held in Israel and in Europe.

Under the 2008 budget, European twinning experts will be working with their Israeli counterparts in the fields of equal employment opportunities and veterinary services. 

ENPI funding also helps to support the unit in the Israeli Ministry of Education that conducts the Euromed Youth programme and the unit in the Council of Higher Education that conducts the TEMPUS programme.

Israeli non-governmental bodies are eligible for support under a variety of programmes funded under ENPI as well as under other EU budgets. For more information see Projects

ISERD – The Israeli Directorate for the EU Framework Programme, is an Israeli inter-ministerial body that aims at promoting joint Israeli-EU R&D ventures within the EU’s R&D Framework Programme. For more information see Scientific Cooperation.