The new Horizon Europe framework programme (after 2020), presented by the European Commission on Thursday 7 June, wants to put the focus firmly on innovation, and if at all possible, on ground-breaking innovation.
Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas said that what was being looked for was “radical ideas” that will change the European Union. He called for “radical change” in the way the EU encourages innovation because “what we were doing was not enough”.
The commissioner gave assurances that in terms of the budget, the European Commission sees research and innovation as “THE priority” for the future. The proof is that, if one compares the budget of the current framework programme Horizon 2020, minus the United Kingdom’s contribution, the increase in the overall allocation suggested to member states – from €67 to €97.6 billion in current prices (with €3.5 billion from the InvestEU fund, see EUROPE 12035) is 50%.
“The sceptics were wrong because getting to a package of €100 billion for research & innovation is really the biggest increase in absolute terms ever”, he stated.
As announced (see EUROPE 12018), the Horizon Europe programme will consist of three main thematic pillars funded as follows: - €25.8 billion for Open Science, with €17 billion for the European Research Council, a pillar which has shown its worth through the award of six Nobel prizes and five Fields medals; - €52.7 billion for the Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness pillar with emphasis on food, water, health and energy; - €13.5 billion for the Open Innovation pillar, including €10 billion for the European Innovation Council.
The European Innovation Council will focus on identifying and financing market-creating break-through innovation and delivering technological advances for Europe. It will also work to foster the growth of start-ups in Europe, so that they do not have to seek capital in the United States or Asia. The Innovation Council will, then, provide direct aid to innovators through two main financing instruments, Pathfinder for the early stages and Accelerator for development and market roll-out.
One of the innovations of Horizon Europe is EU-wide research and innovation missions. These assignments, which will have clear, measurable objectives, will seek to include a wide range of stakeholders in societal issues, such as cancer research, non-polluting transport and removing plastics from the oceans.
Moedas said these assignments will help to inform the general public simply about the research and innovation projects on which Europe focus.
The Euratom programme, which supports research in the area of nuclear safety, will receive funding of €2.4 billion.
“There is no major change. Everything we do is about safety, safety and safety”, the commissioner stressed. According to an expert, the Euratom programme will also encompass security, protection against radiation.
When asked about the possible involvement of the United Kingdom – the largest recipient of Horizon 2020 funding – in the new framework programme, Moedas said that Horizon Europe would be open to countries outside Europe and would make it possible for a larger number of third countries which want to cooperate with the EU to be associated.
“There is no longer a need to belong to regional Europe. The programme opens the possibility of association to countries from anywhere in the world”, an expert stated.
In Parliament, the rapporteur on the new programme, Christian Ehler (EPP, Germany), said that the Commission proposal lacked ambition, if the EU wanted to achieve the goal of devoting 3% of GDP to research and innovation. “That is why the European Parliament will fight for a substantial budget increase. The question now is to know whether this increase will be €120 or €160 billion as recommended by the Lamy report”, he said in a press release.
In July 2017, an expert group chaired by former European commissioner Pascal Lamy, recommended doubling the budget allocated to the post-2020 research and innovation framework programme (see EUROPE 11821).
The draft regulation establishing Horizon Europe can be viewed at: https://bit.ly/2Lx5PBp (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Carmen García, intern)