MEPs adopt Horizon Europe, EU's most ambitious research and innovation programme

It provides support for global challenges such as climate change, digitisation, and the COVID-19 pandemic

Yesterday, 27 April 2021, The European Parliament adopted legislation establishing Horizon Europe, the EU's main research and innovation funding programme. The programme will assist the EU's health systems in preparing for possible pandemics, as well as the Union's industry to decarbonise, digitalise and innovate.

The research and innovation programme provides both short- and long-term funding for research and innovation related to global issues such as climate change, digitalisation, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Largest funding research and innovation programme

Horizon Europe will fund innovative SMEs, European research infrastructure, and an additional €1 billion secured by the Parliament for basic research, which will be channelled through the European Research Council.

"Horizon Europe will prepare the EU for the future by supporting its health systems, its industry to decarbonise and, its businesses to innovate. I and it will also support European researchers! An ambitious investment in research and innovation will deliver on future challenges,” said Dan Nica, rapporteur for the Horizon Europe regulation.

“We achieved an ambitious and balanced budget that strongly supports fundamental research as well as thematic research, including for the first time a specific budget for Europe’s cultural and creative industries. Horizon Europe will be a crucial part of Europe’s recovery,” said Christian Ehler, another rapporteur for Horizon Europe. “With this programme, the EU has also committed legally to defend academic freedom across the continent,” he added.

Horizon Europe comprises three pillars:

• investing in research facilities and finance fellowships and exchanges for researchers
• support research on social challenges, technical and industrial capacities, and will decide the focus of EU-wide research missions.
• Europe as a leader in market-creating innovation and aims to promote the integration of industry, science, higher education, and entrepreneurship.

The programme will have a total budget of 95.5 billion euros, which includes 5.4 billion euros from the EU's Next GenerationEU recovery plan and an additional 4 billion euros from the EU's multiannual financial system (MFF).