Several third countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Israel and the United Kingdom, as well as research and industry umbrella organisations, are reportedly engaged in fierce exchanges with the European Commission as part of the preparation of the 2021-2022 work programme under the Horizon Europe framework programme.
The European Commission has in fact circulated draft versions, over the last two weeks, with copies received by EUROPE, of the calls for proposals related to Cluster 4 dedicated to digital, industry and space of Horizon Europe’s Pillar II, dedicated to global challenges and industrial competitiveness.
The problem: for the first time, the document explicitly mentions the exclusion from participation of associated countries under the new regulation (Article 22.5 in the final version, previously Article 18.5 - see EUROPE 12570/1), especially in quantum and space technologies, in some 50 calls for tenders. This is bad news for some highly innovative third countries such as Switzerland, Israel or the UK, which were involved in flagship projects of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme in these areas.
This about-face by the European Commission is said to be due to the growing climate of protectionism linked to Brexit and the dependencies on third countries brought to light by the pandemic. However, cooperation has always prevailed in research, our source explains. “If the Commission closes the doors, it could potentially force these states to turn to direct competitors of the Union”, fears our source.
According to the specialist media Science Business, Germany has recently expressed its support for the full participation of Israel, Switzerland and the UK in quantum and space research programmes.
The Commission has launched an inter-service consultation on the application of Article 22. This consultation ends this Friday. The Member States in the ‘Shadow Programme Committee’ for Cluster 4 are expected to vote this Thursday on the preliminary work programme that was circulated last week. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)