Horizon 2020

In advance of final agreement on the €70B Horizon 2020 R&D programme, the Commission announced 5 public/private partnerships will get €6.5B, pulling in a further €9.9B from industry. Total investment in these and 5 other projects unveiled yesterday will be €22B

Defeated in the budget and costing stakes, MEPs Christian Ehler and Maria da Graça Carvalho remain hopeful that a bottom-up approach and support for SMEs can open up Europe’s latest R&D programme to new participants

After marathon negotiations slog, key MEPs and interest groups welcome deal and hope for timely start to the European Union’s next R&D programme

Political agreement on simplified funding model, specific instrument for SMEs and increase for Marie Curie and European Research Council

The European Commission has accepted the Court of Auditors report on the shortcomings of Framework Programme 7 and says they will be addressed in Horizon 2020

Calls from the European Parliament for the full costs of research to be met in Horizon 2020 fall on deaf ears, as EU Research Ministers confirm existing flat-rate reimbursement model will stay

The architects of Horizon 2020 have worked long and hard to simplify things for researchers and SMEs. But bureaucratic barriers remain and there is still no proper system in place for tracking research outputs

University and industry lobbyists are gearing up for a busy spring in Brussels, as the Parliament and the Council lock horns on the 2014 - 2020 budget, with investment in Horizon 2020 up for grabs once more

Figures for the 2014 - 2020 research budget are starting to emerge despite a lack of clarity from the European Council. But MEPs are determined to reject the budget, and R&D could become part of a test of strength between the EU institutions

There's less for Horizon 2020 than the €80B the Commission proposed, though R&D will get more money than in FP7. With smoke and mirrors obscuring the true figures, MEPs say the real negotiations start now