In a revised version of the proposal for a decision on the establishment of the specific programme to implement Horizon Europe, published on Friday 8 February, the Council of the European Union is proposing to set the duration for strategic planning to a maximum of 4 years.
Strategic planning (Art. 4a) is one of the major innovations introduced by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12036), the purpose of which is to define a multi-annual strategy to develop the content of work programmes (Art. 11). Originally, the Commission had not set a maximum duration. The Council has clarified the text and now proposes to set this strategic planning at a maximum of 4 years.
Another change is that the Council seems to intend to reduce the revision of missions and partnerships (Art. 12a) to institutionalised partnerships only, whereas the initial proposal suggested all partnerships, namely including those that were co-founded (single actions co-financed) and co-programmed (Memoranda of Understanding, or MoU, between the Commission and private partners), under Articles 185 and 187 of the TFEU on institutional partnerships. “This is an important decision, especially for manufacturers”, explains one source.
In addition, at the request of delegations, the document further clarified the process leading to the establishment and validation of missions (Art. 5).
The Council is working hard on the specific programme, holding 3 working group meetings each week. Recently, in a preparatory document for the Competitiveness Council (see EUROPE 12188), the Member States maintained their position of basing the specific programme on Article 182 TFEU alone, which would exclude the European Parliament. In addition, they excluded the areas of missions and institutionalised partnerships from strategic planning.
Negotiations on the Horizon Europe framework programme are continuing, but the lack of a general approach from the Council on the specific programme does limit progress (see EUROPE 12183).
To consult the Council's document, please visit: https://bit.ly/2WVA4bG. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)