During a long round table discussion held at the Competitiveness Council on Tuesday 19 February, research ministers in EU Member States seem to have agreed on the lists of partnerships and missions proposed by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU in respect of the specific programme for the implementation of Horizon Europe.
"Many ministers have said something that I found to be both courageous and important for Europe. They said, "Well, if I had been the only one making a choice, I would have chosen other areas, but in the best interests of Europe, I accept your list". These were the warm, welcoming words uttered by the Commissioner for Research, Carlos Moedas, during the press conference held after the Competitiveness Council, where ministers came together to agree on the fundamental points of the Presidency's proposal.
Earlier this month, the Romanian Presidency of the Council presented a list that defined partnerships and major missions (see EUROPE 12188). With regard to partnerships, the Presidency suggested creating eight of them, all of which had more or less obscure or relevant names: - health; - digital and generic technologies (explicitly citing artificial intelligence and quantum technologies); - the establishment of an integrated metrology system; - the environmental performance of air, sea and rail transport; - sustainable bio-sourced solutions; - hydrogen storage and sustainable energy technologies; - connected and autonomous vehicles; - SMEs and start-ups with a high research and development intensity. Regarding the missions, the Presidency has established five partnerships on: - adaptation to climate change; - cancer research; - smart and carbon neutral cities; - soil health for sustainable food; and finally, the health of the oceans and natural waters.
During the exchange, Member States expressed their support for the Presidency's proposal, even though many delegations had indicated that they would have liked to have seen a specific mention of one thing or another in the missions or partnerships. One of the recurring requests among Member States, notably Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic, was the integration of inland waterways, while others wanted to differentiate between fresh and salt water. Furthermore, there were also others who would have liked more specific choices in the field of cancer research, such as Hungary, who wanted an explicit reference to be made to lung cancer.
Some delegations and the Commission itself stressed the need not to be too prescriptive in order to leave the experts free to precisely define the scope of the missions and partnerships.
Legal basis. Member States have unanimously reiterated their position in favour of a single legal basis for the Regulation on the Specific Programme, based only on Article 182(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. However, national representatives have made it clear that they wanted to consult the European Parliament in an "informal" manner when defining missions and partnerships. When questioned by EUROPE, the Commissioner indicated that the European Parliament was ready to take a step towards the Council in the interinstitutional negotiations should the Council open the door slightly to parliamentarians in respect of the specific programme, even if this were in a purely consultative capacity.
European Innovation Council. The vast majority of Member States have supported the proposal of the European Innovation Council and some of them, like Denmark, are greatly enthusiastic about the notion. Most delegations have stressed the need to avoid duplication with other European programmes, noting in particular InvestEU (the successor fund to the Juncker Plan), which itself has a research and innovation component. Several Member States have expressed a lack of conviction about a purely subsidy-based approach, while others, such as Estonia, stressed the importance of subsidies. In any case, France is insisting on the need to make the subsidies conditional.
Trilogues possible in early March? Now that the Romanian Presidency has a clearer vision of the political positioning of the Member States, it will seek to obtain a general approach at the level of the Permanent Representatives Committee in order to move to potentially open interinstitutional negotiations (trilogue) with the European Parliament in early March, explained a diplomatic source. The latter was surprised by the relative level of consensus among delegations, since on a technical level, talks appear to be inexorably stalled.
Clarifying the positions of the Member States, in particular as regards the legal basis, should now make it possible for great progress to be made on the framework programme for the Horizon Europe programme; the next interinstitutional meeting for this is scheduled for Thursday 21 February.
By way of reminder, missions and partnerships are new features introduced by the European Commission for the next budget cycle. The missions are, roughly speaking, aimed at promoting the results obtained under the framework of the projects funded by Horizon Europe (see EUROPE 12036). Partnerships aim to define co-financed programmes with various partners (industry, civil society, funding foundations) in order to maximise synergies and achieve European priorities. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)