HORIZON BLOG: European R&D policy newsbytes (Archived_01)

In a new paper published on Wednesday, the European University Association concludes that many challenges and obstacles remain to transnational university cooperation.

The challenges are amplified in large-scale multilateral cooperation like the university alliances under the European Universities Initiative.

“Evidence from EUA’s work shows that only in a few systems is there some improvement with regard to regulatory frameworks, either as part of broader reforms or specifically linked to the alliances,” the paper says. “There will always be differences in European higher education systems due to different distributions of regulatory power, levels and systems of funding, academic cultures and traditions.”

The full paper is available here.

Revamped rules on how EU member states can grant state aid to companies for research, development and innovation activities enter into force today.  

Safeguarding fair competition, the new rules update the definitions of research and innovation activities, enable public support for testing and experimentation infrastructures, and simplify certain rules in order to facilitate the practical application of the RDI Framework.  

“The revised State aid framework adopted today will make it easier for member states to support research, development and innovation, including by small and medium-sized companies, while ensuring that possible competition distortions are kept to the minimum,” said Margrethe Vestager, commissioner in charge of competition policy. 

The European Commission today announced the 49 space research projects that won a total of €200 million in 2021 and 2022 calls for proposals. 

The projects foster Europe’s technology sovereignty goals, consolidate flagship components of the EU space programme and develop new downstream applications and services.  

There’s €1.6 billion in funding for space research in the EU’s €9.5 billion seven-year Horizon Europe research programme.  

In a joint response to a report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA), member states are asking the commission to monitor the efficiency of the “widening and spreading excellence” programme in Horizon Europe.

The ECA report was published in June and analysed the outcomes of the widening programme under Horizon 2020. According to the ECA audit, the Commission should monitor the efficiency of the funding schemes aimed at reducing the east-west research and innovation gap. The report also called on member states to speed up reforms and boost investments.

In their response, published by the Czech presidency of the EU on Friday, member states say the Commission should identify indicators assessing the impact of widening schemes on participation in other, more competitive parts of the programme.

Spain’s ministry for science and innovation has allocated €85 million euros for a brand-new research vessel for the institute of oceanography thanks to EU regional development funding.

The investment has been in the works since 2020, when the EU announced it will make funding available from its regional development fund. Ocean research in Europe is being performed in increasingly ageing vessels, that are sometimes exceeding their normal life expectancy of 30 years.

Science minister Diana Morant said the new ship will be equipped with cutting-edge technology that will allow it to study ecosystems, habitats and seabeds in all the world's oceans, including polar areas, and at depths greater than 6,000 meters.

The online consultation asks for feedback on draft updates on two regulations extending the validity of the horizontal block exemption regulations on research and development and specialisation agreements, so-called HBERs. 

The Commission is proposing to prolong the regulations, due to expire at the end of this year, until 30 June 2023. If all goes well, the new regulations will be adopted by the end of the year.  

Businesses and other organisations in the European economic area can submit their feedback by 14 November 2022.

The €400 million in grants and equity investments will benefit 75 start-ups selected after the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator’s June cut-off date for applications.  

They join a backlog of companies that have been waiting for funding from the €7 billion EIC Accelerator following its delayed launch under the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme. The European Commission is now actively tackling the backlog after restructuring the EIC’s equity fund. 

The US Department of Homeland Security published a guide to its research funding programmes – including five areas in which it collaborates internationally. Among them is its Silicon Valley Innovation Program that funds start-up companies based in the US or abroad. Companies get $200,000 to $2 million grants or other “non-dilutive” funding for up to 24 months on specific projects that fit into the agency’s mandate.

The department is one of several across the US government that fund R&D, in the fragmented US funding system that includes agriculture, defence, health and other fields. By law the agencies have to spend most of their money on R&D based in the US – but there are several big exceptions for which international funding is also possible, when the topic is a government priority.

The second high-level meeting of the EU-US Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue took place today to discuss cooperation on competition policy and enforcement in the technology sector. 

The discussion focused on the the importance of identifying future key markets and issues that may arise in the digital sector, the adoption of effective remedies in digital cases, and the need to keep merger regulations fit for purpose in a digitalised economy. 

The meeting was attended by the EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, US Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general for antitrust at the US Department of Justice.  

“Deepening our partnership and exchanging insights with our European colleagues can help ensure that our enforcement practices and policies reflect modern market realities. Ultimately these efforts to promote fair competition in digital markets will benefit consumers, businesses, and workers on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Khan.  

The policy dialogue is part of the wider EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) launched in June last year to enable coordination on approach to global trade, economic and technology issues. Following today’s meeting, high-level meeting and regular technical discussions will continue.  

In a position paper published today, the association of universities of science and technology in Europe CESAER is calling on the EU to put funding synergies at the heart of new EU funding programmes.

CESAR says the EU must ensure a balance between competitive and non-competitive funding streams, and investigator-driven frontier research.

CESAER president Rik Van de Walle said the goals set by the EU for the twin green and digital transitions can only be achieved through a comprehensive and cross-cutting approach across disciplines, sectors and communities. “For example, the ambitious European Green Deal cannot be achieved with what is available today, but is contingent on continued developments in science and technology,” Van de Walle said. “We stand ready to do our part, but to really take this to the next level, synergies must be put at the heart when designing the next generation of funding programmes.”