This live blog is tracking the latest developments in European research and innovation programmes, including the broader debate on the future of R&D policy and funding in the next multiannual budget due to start in 2028. Beyond that, we look at other EU policies with significant research and innovation components in climate, digital, agriculture and regional development. In addition, national governments often come up with new R&D policies, decide to fund new research avenues, and set up international cooperation deals. This blog aims to keep you informed on all of that and more.
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You can read the full archive of this blog here.
EU-LIFE, which brings together 17 research institutes in the life sciences, is calling on the EU to strengthen the proposed budget for the next iteration of Horizon Europe, due to start in 2028.
The life sciences organisations say the European Parliament and the Council should work towards reinforcing the €175 billion budget proposed by the European Commission last week.
“Although an increase in absolute numbers, [the €175-billion figure] remains less than 10% of the whole [multiannual budget] and is still far from the broadly supported minimum of €200 billion proposed by leading independent experts and the R&I sector, including EU-LIFE,” the statement reads.
EU-LIFE also complains about plans to subordinate Horizon Europe to the governance of the new European Competitiveness Fund, the “attack” on the European Research Council’s independence, the lack of adequate investment in early-stage research, and the lack of clarity on the measures to reduce top-down, prescriptive calls.
Read the full statement here.
The European Union and Japan have committed to accelerating the negotiations on the latter’s association to the Horizon Europe programme “in good faith” following the EU-Japan Summit 2025.
The deal aims to “enhance mutually beneficial cooperation in science and technology,” the European Commission said in a statement.
The two parties also plan on boosting dialogue on advanced materials and will soon sign a Memorandum of Cooperation on information sharing regarding hydrogen safety between the Joint Research Centre, the EU’s science hub, and the High-Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan.
Read the full statement here.
The Coimbra Group has welcomed the increase in the combined budget share for Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe but wants further details on the precise budgetary breakdown within the programme.
The budget for both programmes is expected to rise from about 9% in the 2021-27 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to almost 11% in the proposed 2028-2034 MFF.
Coimbra also calls for more details on how the governance and structure of Horizon Europe and the proposed Competitiveness Fund will be articulated. The organisation is “firmly reiterating our caution against any attempts to operationally integrate the two instruments or to align their strategic directions.”
Read the full statement here.
The European Association of Innovation Consultants (EAIC) has urged the EU executive to clarify how decision-making related to FP10 will work within the European Competitiveness Fund and how funds will be granted between the different instruments. Consultants also call for transparent rules to be set for the default use of lump sums, as well as more transparency on how grants will be awarded after 2027.
“Transparent governance, efficient instruments, and stable funding will be key to turning this ambition into real impact for researchers, businesses, and society,” said Virginie Robin, board member of the EAIC.
Read the full statement here.
The board of the European University Association (EUA) is calling on all parties to engage in “meaningful, peaceful and constructive dialogue” in efforts to resolve the situation that Serbian universities, which continue to mobilise against the government’s pressure on research, are facing.
Citing the withholding of state funding for operational costs and the recent introduction of a new regulation restricting the amount of time academic staff at institutions can spend on research activities, the EUA pointed to “clear infringements of university autonomy.”
Read the full statement here.
South Korea becomes the first Asian country to associate to Horizon Europe, EU's flagship research and innovation programme.
Korean researchers and organisations will be able to join and lead international research consortia, access funding and collaborate with leading research institutions across Europe and beyond. Korea will also contribute financially to the programme's budget.
Korea has been benefiting from a transitional arrangement that entered into force on 1 January 2025. Korean entities have been able to apply and be evaluated as prospective beneficiaries in Horizon Europe proposals for all calls implementing Pillar II already in the 2025 budget.
More details here.
The 2025 editions of the European Innovation Scoreboard and of the Regional Innovation Scoreboard reveal that the EU innovation performance has declined slightly between 2024 and 2025.
The European Commission says these findings highlight the urgent need to step up implementation of the New European Innovation Agenda, the Startup and Scaleup Strategy, and the forthcoming Innovation Act to close remaining gaps between EU Member States and modernise Europe’s research and innovation systems.
“The 2025 scoreboard confirms our long-term progress, but also highlights the urgent need to do more and to close persistent gaps between the different parts of Europe,” said Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU commissioner for research and innovation.
The proposals for the EU’s next long-term budget and the next research and innovation programme will be “key to driving a more sustainable and competitive Europe in the years ahead,” she said.
European Innovation Scoreboard 2025.
Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2025.
More details here.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) has launched a €20 million call to support Ukrainian deep-tech startups and SMEs to strengthen Ukraine’s innovation ecosystem. The call targets companies developing technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, cybersecurity and other strategic sectors.
The total funding available for this call is €20 million, and eligible companies can apply for grants of up to €500,000. Interested candidates can apply from August 12 to November 26.
More details here.
The Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) is calling for the EU to substantially increase its investments in defence and security as part of the next long-term budget, in a new position paper.
The paper calls for sector-specific investment envelopes of €100 billion for defence, €50 billion for security, €40-60 billion for space, and €23.5 billion for civil aviation.
The next EU budget should consolidate all security-related instruments, including the current civil security research cluster in Horizon Europe, into a single Securing Europe Facility, to ensure consistency and provide better links between research and deployment, ASD says.
Meanwhile, it recommends a budget of €6 billion for civil aviation, €1.5 billion for deploying digital air traffic management technologies under the Single European Sky initiative, and €5-6 billion for sustainable aviation fuels. Meanwhile, it says 20-25% of support from the Innovation Fund should go towards civil aviation.
The Commission’s proposal for the next EU research framework programme, set to be unveiled on July 16, does not pose major threats to research, said Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureşan, European Parliament’s co-rapporteur for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
Speaking alongside co-rapporteur Carla Tavares at a press conference on the Parliament’s budget priorities, Mureşan said legislators should focus on more pressing issues in agriculture and cohesion policy. “We think that for research, given that the Commission has confirmed [FP10] will be a separate programme, the dangers are not fundamental,” he told Science|Business.
“Still, of course, we as a Parliament we'll have to make sure throughout the negotiation process that the research programme will be properly designed,” he added.
As for the funding’s size of FP10, Mureşan said specific figures would only be discussed after reviewing the Commission’s proposal and consulting with researchers and experts.
Watch the Parliament’s press conference here.
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