Following the official launch last month of Horizon Europe, the EU’s ninth Research and Innovation (R&I) Framework programme (see EUROPE 12649/13), the European Commission adopted the programme’s first “strategic plan” on Monday 15 March.
For the first time, the EU R&I Framework Programme requires the Commission to use a plan of this nature to lay down guidelines for targeting investments during the first 4 years of the programme. Horizon Europe, which has a budget of €95.5 billion at current prices, is planned to have a lifetime of 7 years.
The strategic plan adopted today states that, by 2024, investment in R&I should be carried out in four key strategic orientations. These are: - promoting EU autonomy by leading the development of digital technologies, sectors and value chains; - restoring ecosystems and biodiversity in the EU, including through sustainable management of natural resources; - making Europe a climate-neutral circular economy; - creating a more inclusive and democratic European society.
In addition, the document identifies approximately 30 European partnerships co-programmed and co-funded by the EU, which should be supported by the EU as part of Horizon Europe. These include, for example, the European Partnership for Risk Assessment of Chemicals and the European Partnership for Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics.
The reason is that the strategic plan also aims to “promote consistency between the work programmes, EU priorities and national priorities”, according to the proposal for a Council of the EU decision to establish the specific programme to implement Horizon Europe.
More broadly, the Commission sees this as an opportunity to ensure that European investment in this sector is in line with its priorities: the digital transition, the green transition, strategic autonomy and resilience. In a statement, Research and Innovation Commissioner Mariya Gabriel stated: “This new approach is another way to make sure that the research and innovation funded by the EU will address the challenges faced by Europeans”.
The strategic plan can be consulted at: https://bit.ly/3lh8dis (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)