The European Commission has published its proposal for the next Framework Programme (and the successor to Horizon 2020), Horizon Europe. The programme will aim to strengthen the EU’s scientific and technological base, foster the EU’s competitiveness and its innovation performance, as well as deliver on the EU’s strategic priorities and tackle global challenges.
The total budget announced is €100 billion for 2021-2027, with €97.6 billion for Horizon Europe and €2.4 billion for Euratom. The Horizon Europe funding will be split across three pillars:
- Open Science – €25.8 billion
- Global Challenges – €52.7 billion
- Open Innovation – €13.5 billion
The main changes from Horizon 2020 highlighted are:
- The creation of the European Innovation Council (EIC) with its early stage and development based funding instruments for start-ups and companies;
- The introduction of Missions, which will unite a body of research in pursuit of a clearly stated goal;
- A new streamlined set of Partnerships with industry, civil society and funding foundations; and
- Further simplification of the programme.
A new website on Horizon Europe has been launched by the Commission which includes links to a video, a factsheet on the budget and the research and innovation success stories as well as links to the package of legal texts.