This is the content of the letter sent to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and other representatives and institutions of the European Union.
“Madrid, April 10, 2025
Ms. Ursula von der Leyen Copy to the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP)
European Commission Brussels, Belgium
Subject: Complaint regarding collective academic boycott against Israeli universities in Spain
Dear Madam President,
I am writing to you in my capacity as president of ACOM – Action and Communication on the Middle East. ACOM is an independent and non-denominational Spanish organization dedicated to combating antisemitism and fostering a strong relationship between Spain and Israel. We work in collaboration with government bodies, political parties, and civil society, focusing on universal values such as human rights, democratic principles, civil liberties, and the rule of law. Our work is oriented toward defending the existing legal framework, taking legal action against any public institution that promotes discrimination or hostility toward Jewish people in Spain.
In the past, we have turned to Spanish courts to annul boycott agreements against Israel and its citizens, whether individuals or legal entities, adopted by municipalities, provincial councils, and universities, based on the postulates of the BDS movement (“Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel”). More than 80 institutional agreements, including those in the academic field, have been annulled by the courts, including Higher Courts of Justice and the Spanish Supreme Court, which, in its judgment No. 1161/2022 of September 20, 2022, annulled the declaration of a Spanish municipality as a territory adhering to said boycott campaign for implying “discrimination against third parties, that is, injury to fundamental rights.”
Hereby, we address the honorable Commission to challenge the collective boycott agreement against Israeli academic institutions described below, adopted by a group of more than seventy (70) Spanish universities, with discriminatory effects and restriction of competition within the internal market, using the events of the war between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas as an excuse.
In this regard, we wish to denounce the commitment adopted on May 9, 2024, by the Governing Board of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE), to “Review and, if appropriate, suspend collaboration agreements with Israeli universities and research centers that have not expressed a firm commitment to peace and 1 compliance with international humanitarian law.” This commitment has already led various Spanish universities to suspend collaboration agreements with Israeli universities, with which they have signed mobility agreements such as Erasmus+ and with which they participate in EU-funded projects, based on political rather than academic criteria.
As a consequence of the aforementioned suspensions of academic relations, derived from the cited collective boycott commitment, complaints have been received from various boycotted Israeli universities, from which the serious negative effects of said concerted boycott practice become evident, by limiting the participation of Israeli universities in European education and research programs and European cooperation in key areas; restricting the mobility and free movement of students, researchers, professors, and academic resources, and hindering the transfer of knowledge and technology in the internal market. This exclusion, of a general and arbitrary nature, is already beginning to show a domino effect that dissuades other Spanish and European institutions and organizations from establishing collaborations with Israeli universities, affecting access to funding and opportunities in joint European Union projects, as well as trade and academic cooperation between Member States. This constitutes a violation of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits concerted practices that restrict competition in the internal market.
Furthermore, the aforementioned collective boycott commitment by Spanish universities grouped in CRUE, and the suspensions derived from it, contravene Article 18 of the TFEU, by introducing direct discrimination based on nationality and ideology, as agreements are suspended exclusively with academic institutions, professors, researchers, students, and entities from Israel, based on political, anti-Israeli and, it must be said, antisemitic considerations, contrary to the principle of equal treatment within the European university space. These measures open the door to an academic boycott that violates the fundamental principles of the European Union and sets a dangerous precedent of exclusion and discrimination in the university sphere.
Likewise, Spain, as a member of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), has committed to fostering academic cooperation free from ideological barriers. The position adopted by these universities, which conditions collaboration on political motivations, breaks with these principles and also violates the EU-Israel Association Agreement, designed to promote scientific and academic cooperation between both parties. Therefore, we request the intervention of the European Commission given that there are international agreements between the EU and Israel in education or science that are being breached through the aforementioned collective boycott agreement.
By being based on political criteria and antisemitic considerations, these collective boycott measures distort competition in the higher education market, weakening the EU’s credibility in its commitment to academic freedom. Moreover, it establishes a dangerous precedent that promotes ideological censorship and undermines the autonomy of universities, transforming spaces of free exchange of ideas into environments subject to arbitrary pressures and exclusions. 2 Given the gravity of this situation, we urge the European Commission to act urgently to safeguard the principles of free competition, academic cooperation, and non-discrimination within the EU. It is imperative to immediately evaluate the impact of these boycott agreements, which affect the free movement of services and the competitiveness of the European academic market, and determine the necessary actions to counter this trend. A firm intervention is required to ensure that university decisions are governed by criteria of excellence and collaboration, and not by ideological pressures that violate the commitments acquired under the EHEA framework and the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
In this regard, we request that the European Commission adopt the following measures under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of September 23, 2024, on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union:
● Evaluate compliance with the requirements for access to European funds in relation to the established infringement (Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of September 23, 2024), in particular, regarding respect for the principles of non-discrimination and free competition in the execution of projects financed with European funds.
● In this regard, we request an investigation into, among others, the impact of the boycott on EU funding programs, such as Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, and other academic funds, under Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, which establishes that beneficiaries of European funds must comply with the fundamental principles of the EU.
● Order the suspension or revocation of any European funding granted to the universities involved, in case it is determined that the reported conduct violates the provisions of the TFEU and the EU’s financial rules.
Likewise, it is requested that, by virtue of its powers established in Council Regulation (EC) No. 1/2003, of December 16, 2002, on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty (current Arts. 101 and 102 TFEU), the European Commission adopt, among others, the following measures:
● In application of Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No. 1/2003, request from the universities and academic associations involved all the information necessary to assess the existence of practices contrary to European Union Law and determine the magnitude of the reported boycott.
● In application of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No. 1/2003, establish the existence of an infringement of Article 101 of the TFEU and order the immediate cessation of the academic boycott, imposing the necessary structural or behavioral remedies to restore academic cooperation in accordance with European Union Law. Likewise, if appropriate, we request the adoption of 3 additional relevant measures within its competencies, including the possible opening of sanction proceedings (Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No. 1/2003).
Without prejudice to the above, we request that the European Commission:
● Request information and explanations from the universities involved, under Article 337 of the TFEU, which empowers the Commission to gather the necessary information in order to fulfill its functions in supervising compliance with the TFEU, particularly regarding Articles 18 and 101 TFEU.
● Adopt guidance and warning measures directed at the universities involved, reminding them of their legal obligations under EU Law and establishing clear guidelines to avoid future restrictions on competition and discrimination in academic cooperation, by virtue of the Commission’s general powers to ensure respect for EU Law (Article 17(1) TFEU).
We remain at your entire disposal to provide additional information and collaborate in any process that contributes to preserving these fundamental principles.
Sincerely,
Angel Mas
President of ACOM – Action and Communication on the Middle East”
