Horizon Europe is well underway, but the world of European R&D policy goes well beyond the confines of the €95.5 billion R&D programme. EU climate, digital, agriculture and regional policies all have significant research and innovation components. 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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The European Commission has announced €600 million in research and innovation funding for clean tech, clean energy and decarbonised manufacturing in the EU. The funding is set to be allocated through Horizon Europe in 2026 and 2027 and is part of the Clean Industrial deal announced on Wednesday.
In addition to the research funding, the Commission has also announced €90 million through Erasmus+ which would help reinforce sectoral skills for strategic industries linked to the Clean Industrial Deal.
“Europe is not only a continent of industrial innovation, but also a continent of industrial production,” as Commission president President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement after the launch of the legislative package.
Read more here.
Ian Chapman has been appointed as new CEO of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Britain’s main R&I agency.
According to the government, Chapman’s mission is to put economic growth at the heart of public investment in R&I. He will center research in the UK around benefits for the public and fast growth of the country's economy.
“Research and innovation must be central to the prosperity of our society and our economy, so UKRI can shape the future of the country,” said Chapman.
Read more about the appointment here.
The Coimbra group of universities says the current technology centered political discourse does not take into account the role of social sciences and humanities in addressing global societal problems.
“Education, research and innovation are indeed strategic tools, not only to increase competitiveness in areas such as climate change, digital transformation, health or defence, but also to address societal and global challenges,” Coimbra said in a statement.
The group also calls for a bigger EU budget for university exchanges and research and innovation programmes.
“As the negotiations on the EU budget 2028-2034 are in full swing, [the Coimbra Group] calls for a stand-alone Erasmus+ programme and a stand-alone research and innovation framework programme (FP10) after 2027, with ring-fenced budgets for both programmes for the whole MFF duration,” the board members request in the statement.
More information here.
India is an important research partner for the EU, but there is room for more strategic partnerships, improved alignment with the EU-India Trade and Technology Council and clearer budgeting, according to a new Commission evaluation report.
India has so far collected over 600 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions grants and is participating in 88 Horizon projects, the report says.
This week, EU Commissioner for startups, research and innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva is visiting India together with the College of commissioners.
The India-EU science partnership has been in place since 2002 and the Commission is planning to announce a continuation of the program this year.
Read the full report here.
The EU should change tactics and boost investments in innovation to be able to reach its net-zero emissions goal by 2050, says a new report by the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change.
“With the right incentives, a dynamic policy mix can speed up innovation and strengthen the EU’s position in the global race for cleantech leadership,” said Ottmar Edenhofer, Chair of the Advisory Board.
The report calls for more investment in technologies that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The report says technologies such as Carbon Capture Storage are still not fully developed and have been criticised in the past for not being fully economically viable.
Read the full report here.
Trump's orders to freeze billions in funding and censor research on topics such as climate change and gender will impact global research collaboration and scientific freedom beyond the US, warns the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA).
“ALLEA is deeply concerned that the actions of the U.S. administration could have far-reaching and devastating consequences for essential (global) research programmes, particularly in fields such as health, climate, gender, and the social sciences,” the federation said in a statement.
The alliance of academies encourages research organisations and governments to be increasingly cautious and protect the freedom of academia.
Read the statement here.
The European Commission today announced the three finalists competing for this year's EU prize for social innovations.
This year's competition is dedicated to innovative social ideas for fighting misinformation and encouraging engagement with democracy.
The finalists will be awarded cash prizes of 75,000€, 50,000€ and 25,000€ on 11 March at the European Social Innovation Forum Annual Event.
Supported by the European Innovation Council (EIC) under Horizon Europe, this is the 12th annual competition, each year focused on a different challenge.
Read more here.
The European University Association (EUA) has announced the launch of a European higher education observatory and scoreboard to support evidence-based policymaking in the sector.
The observatory has four components:
The Sector Scoreboard tracks the policy agenda of the European Education Area,
The Benchmarking Tool for Higher Education Institutions enables comparison between institutions,
The Microdata Access provides core data from European universities,
And a dedicated repository for additional tools and reports.
At the launch event, stakeholders emphasised this is an early version of the tools and further enhancements are in the works. Future improvements will include less jargon-heavy terminology, transparency about data sources and a more user-friendly interface.
The European Commission has announced the winners of three calls under its WIDERA programme – Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area.
The €29 million will be spread across three large projects:
- Science comes to town 2026 (€6 million)
- Talent ecosystems for early research careers (€20 million)
- Turning research into real-world impact (€3 million)
“By connecting citizens with science and researchers with new opportunities, we are shaping a Europe where innovation is part of everyday life,” said Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation.
More information here.
The US and China produce more scientific knowledge and hold more patents across twelve clusters of emerging technologies analysed in a new report by the European Commission’s Joint research Centre (JRC).
Although it does not lead the US and China, Europe holds a strong position in research for digital twins, artificial intelligence, therapeutics and biotechnologies, energy, and agriculture, the report says.
Also, European R&D organisations file fewer patents on their research results than organisations in China or in the United States.“Europe’s scientific excellence and its pivotal role as knowledge broker, [...], do not consistently translate into patenting and commercialization as effectively as in other regions [...],” the paper says.
The JRC report looks at 221 emerging technologies to identify current trends in science and technology in different regions. Read it in full here.
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