HORIZON BLOG: Research and innovation in the next EU budget (Archived)

The Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE), a group of research organisations and learning societies, is concerned that basic research will be underfunded in the next EU budget if the European Research Council gets a funding cut.

Under the new European Commission budget proposal, the ERC gets a 3.2 per cent cut along with many other projects financed under Horizon Europe.

“Without basic research in the picture, the EU will not properly address Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness. We call on the Commission to allow all forces to join together, including scientists working in basic sciences.,” says the group’s statement issued today.

In late April, the group sent an open letter to EU leaders asking them to avoid overfunding research fields relevant to the current pandemic, however, they regret their voice has not been heard.

University Association CESAER Tuesday issued a statement urging EU leaders to strengthen the European Research Area (ERA) and avoid diverting funding from basic to applied research.

Under the European Commission’s new proposal, the €13 billion Horizon Europe boost will only fund the European Innovation Council and applied research projects in health, digital and climate, while other Horizon programmes get a 3.2 per cent cut. The group believes the new proposal risks underfunding basic research and says the budget should not be further tilted towards applied research.

CESAER also urge EU leaders to strengthen the ERA with a new funding instrument, a framework for talent circulation, and a boost for research organisations in underperforming countries.

Leaders of six leading European research organisations are calling on EU policymakers to increase the budget of Horizon Europe from the €94.4 billion foreseen by the European Commission to around €120 billion as recommended by the European Parliament in 2018.

The group believes research will play a key role in the post-pandemic recovery and an ambitious Horizon Europe budget is key to guaranteeing Europe has the means to build a prosperous future. “Massive investments in research, comprising the entire knowledge value chain in terms of technology readiness levels, from basic research to market deployment will be essential to return to economic and societal prosperity following the pandemic,” says the group’s statement.

The statement was signed by the presidents of the G6 network of European research organisations: Italy’s National Research Council (CNR), France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Spain’s Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the Helmholtz Association, the Leibniz Association, and the Max Planck Society.

The European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA) have issued a statement asking member states to allocate more funding for arts and education in the next EU budget.

The lobby group want policymakers to increase funding for Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe, and double the budget for Creative Europe, a programme supporting the creative and cultural sectors, which has been allocated €1,52 billion under the new European Commission proposal. 

“While the new proposal does allocate more funding to Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ compared the version presented in February 2020, this is not nearly sufficient to realize the full potential and ambitions of these programmes,” says the group's statement.

Since the European Commission announced its new EU budget proposal in late May, almost 4,000 more people have signed an online petition in support of preserving fair funding for the European Research Council (ERC).

The petition, which currently boasts over 10,300 signatures, calls on EU policymakers to avoid budget cuts for the ERC and at least maintain the current funding levels. The signatories, who call themselves the "Friends of ERC", published an open letter outlining their request to European leaders in April.

The European Commission’s proposal to beef up its health efforts with a €9.4 billion Health4EU programme got the endorsement of the European Patients Forum, an umbrella organisation for patients’ associations. “The time is now right for a coordinated Europe to protect our health,” the group said in a statement.

Among the specific measures it urges: supporting joint EU procurement of medicines, vaccines and devices, and linking the new health programme to health research in Horizon Europe and the Innovative Medicines Initiative.

In reaction to the new EU budget proposal, the Coimbra Group said the commission showed a clear lack of ambition in strengthening investment in research and education.

Disappointed with the current proposal for the Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programmes, the lobby group calls on policymakers to set more ambitious budgets for the two programmes and provide better support for young people.

The Guild of European Research Intensive Universities says the new Horizon Europe budget proposal is “a step in the right direction” but joins other lobby groups in calling for an urgent clarification of how the new recovery programme is linked to Horizon Europe.

The Guild wants the commission to explain how the recovery package, NextGenerationEU, will affect research funding, declaring that Horizon Europe must retain “an exclusive focus on, and a proper balance between, research and innovation.”

The group is also disappointed with the insufficient Erasmus+ budget increase.

“Unless we strengthen Europe’s scientific resilience, any investment in Europe’s recovery could easily be undermined by another crisis,” says the group’s statement.

The day after the commission announced its new budget proposal, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, announced four policy recommendations for enhancing the country‘s participation in the Horizon Europe programme.

In an online event, Nausėda declared „business as usual is no longer relevant“ in the country that ranks 24th among member states in terms of participation in Horizon projects.

The new recommendations include redesigning the structure of R&I policy in the country, giving incentives to encourage engagement in Horizon Europe, and expanding international links and local research competences.

EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel gave a speech at the online event, promising more money for underperforming Horizon countries: „I think that we must seize this opportunity, this turning point moment, to bridge the research and innovation divide and advance Europe together. That is why, and you know that it‘s a priority for me, under Horizon Europe, support for less performing countries will be extended and the budget will be increased,“ said Gabriel.

The European Universities Association (EUA) says the new Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ budget increase falls short of societies’ needs as the new proposal stagnates below the commission’s original plans.

The group, which previously backed the Parliament’s proposal to invest €120 billion in Horizon Europe, says that Horizon and Erasmus+ programmes are essential to allowing universities to contribute to the economic recovery efforts in a time when the need for innovation has never been higher.

Now, the group calls on member states to “support long-term recovery through a higher commitment to research, innovation and education.”