Brussels, 03/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - European ministers responsible for research agreed, on Tuesday 3 December, on the general framework of the “new generation” of public-public and public-private partnerships as part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Negotiations with the European Parliament are thus expected to begin very shortly. They will end before the European elections - or, at least, that is what the European Commission is hoping. The Commission is not, however, altogether pleased with Tuesday's result. The atmosphere nonetheless became more relaxed during the meeting with a glass of champagne, far from the cameras, to mark the end of the negotiations on Horizon 2020.
Five public-private partnerships should thus continue or be launched in the fields of bio-industry, aeronautics, electronics, fuel cells and hydrogen, and with regard to innovative medicines. Four other private-public partnerships are expected to continue operating between 2014 and 2020 on “assistance to active life”, metrology, and alongside two programmes - one for innovative SMEs and the other for conducting clinical trials in Africa in order to “help reduce the social and economic burden of poverty-related diseases”. Throughout the whole of the programmes' operational period, the EU hopes to make available nearly €22 billion, with €8 billion from the Horizon 2020 budget, i.e. more than double the previous financial framework (2007-2013), €10 billion from the private sector, and some €4 billion disbursed by the member states.
Research Commissioner Maíre Geoghegan-Quinn, nonetheless disapproved on several points - points which are definitely not insoluble but which will pose a number of difficulties during interinstitutional negotiations. The Council decided to limit the Commission's right to conduct audits for those partnerships. Ex-post audits may only be carried out in “duly justified cases”, the compromise adopted states. The Commission takes the view that this runs counter to the financial regulation in force. A second problem relates to introducing possible financing of those partnerships as of 1 January 2014, while the final compromise will not be adopted until the first half of the same year. The “retro activity” clause does not please the Commission. The last problem identified by Geoghegan-Quinn concerns “the definition of R&D performance” of SMEs as the definition does not correspond to that agreed in the Horizon 2020 legislative package.
Horizon 2020. Ministers seized the opportunity provided by the meeting to formally adopt the legislative package on the next Horizon 2020 framework programme. Two years after its presentation by the European Commission - years described during the meeting by the commissioner as “hard, exhausting years” - Horizon 2020 may now start as of 1 January 2014, with a budget of €77 billion (current price). Certain parts of the package were passed unanimously whereas, for others, Malta and Austria abstained, especially in order to keep a distance with research on stem cells allowed in some member states. (JK/transl.jl)