• Posted 06-Oct-2020

Council finalises its position on the Horizon Europe package

On 29 September, the Council finalised its position on the proposed regulation establishing Horizon Europe, the EU framework programme for research and innovation for the years 2021 to 2027 (Horizon Europe regulation) and on the proposed decision on the specific programme implementing Horizon Europe.

The agreement is an important step forward towards final adoption of Horizon Europe. The Council now needs to make sure with the European Parliament and the Commission that the forward-looking EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation can enter into force in the beginning of the next year. This is a joint task – for the benefit of the European research and innovation community as well as the competitiveness of the EU.

The main outstanding issue of the Horizon Europe regulation agreed upon concerns the internal break-down of Horizon Europe's budget, including funds to be made available under the EU recovery instrument entitled the Next Generation EU (NGEU). The Council has also agreed on provisions regulating international cooperation and the association of third countries to Horizon Europe as well as provisions ensuring synergies with other EU funding programmes.

As regards the specific programme decision, the main amendments to the Commission proposal agreed upon are mostly of a budgetary nature and reflect those introduced in the Horizon Europe regulation.

Next steps

The agreement on the two legislative acts paves the way for finalising negotiations with the European Parliament in view of the swift adoption of the package by the end of the year. 

Source: European Council Press Release (https://bit.ly/3lfBid1)