Member States approved, on Wednesday 24 June, two partial compromises on the Horizon Europe package for the 2028-2034 period, covering both the framework programme and the specific programme, and recommended that the EU Council, which will meet on Friday 26 June, adopt a partial general approach, said the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council. This is expected to take place with the adoption of the so-called ‘A’ items by the ‘Energy’ Council on 26 June.
These texts (still partial, since the issue of the amounts remains to be negotiated) are intended to ensure the continuity of Horizon Europe as a standalone programme based on excellence, while strengthening its alignment with the European Competitiveness Fund and consolidating the role of Member States in strategic governance and priority-setting, it further explained.
The Presidency summarised the main changes in two notes.
One of the main sticking points concerned the concept of “widening”, in other words countries that should benefit from “widening participation and spreading excellence” under Horizon Europe, in order to remedy structural imbalances in the EU R&I landscape.
On this aspect, two groups of countries were opposed: countries with developed, more advanced research infrastructures, defending the principle of excellence in the distribution of funds, and countries lagging somewhat behind and wishing research funds also to go to projects carried out in their countries.
These countries, including in particular Bulgaria, Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic, had set out their position on the matter in a public letter of 30 March, in which they attributed these structural imbalances to “historically different developments of R&I systems, capacities and investment patterns” that continue to hamper the realisation of the European Research Area (https://aeur.eu/f/mke ).
The compromise reached by the Cyprus Presidency seeks to strike a fair balance, maintaining that excellence must remain the driving force and fundamental basis of projects supported by Horizon Europe, while also providing for measures to support the development of research projects in less advanced countries.
Further details are provided regarding support measures, notably the continuation of instruments that have proven their worth and the possible establishment of new ones, the note explains. The compromise text also strengthens the objective of sustained convergence in research and innovation capacities, and continued advancement across the Union.
The Programme should implement concrete measures to support capacity-building [in widening countries] and strengthen collaborative links and exploitation of knowledge across the Union, thus reinforcing research and innovation potential [in widening countries and transition countries], with a view to achieving a more coherent and integrated European R&I system and contributing to the objective of investing at least 3% of GDP in research and development.
These actions would also aim to stimulate the growth of the research and innovation capacities of private actors in order to foster the transition towards greater R&D intensity in widening countries and transition countries, the text proposes. The support provided by these measures should promote upward and lasting convergence in research and innovation capacities, and build on the progress made by countries to ensure their continued development.
As regards the governance model, the compromise strengthens the involvement of the Council and Member States in the strategic priority-setting process of Horizon Europe.
Among the horizontal principles, the compromise text added paragraphs relating to the promotion of cross-border collaboration, the Programme’s dual-use by design approach, the implementation of gender equality by default and synergies with other Union programmes.
On research security, the compromise text introduces a specific definition and a dedicated article setting out the framework for the identification, assessment and mitigation of risks linked to research and innovation activities.
As regards Pillar I (Excellent Science), the text introduces amendments relating to the working arrangements and term of office of the President of the European Research Council (ERC) - four years (renewable once) - as well as to the composition and term of mandate of the ERC Scientific Council. Particular attention is now being paid to early-career researchers, both for the ERC and for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA).
On comitology, the examination procedure has been added for all configurations, with the exception of the ERC work programme. A no-opinion clause has been inserted, preventing the adoption of implementing acts where the Programme Committee delivers no opinion.
Links to the documents: https://aeur.eu/f/mkb ; https://aeur.eu/f/mkc ; https://aeur.eu/f/mkd (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)