CSIC says budget for last year of Horizon 2020 should be maintained

In view of the present negotiations to define the general budget of the European Union for 2020 and the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) expresses the need to maintain the budget planned for the last year of the framework program Horizon 2020, the great multiannual EU plan to finance R & D & I. Maintaining the budget is essential to sustain the contribution that the program makes to the competitiveness, prosperity, economic growth of the EU and the achievement of social challenges. Innovation and development are key elements for achieving EU political priorities such as the Paris Agreements and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Organization.

In the current negotiations , the Council of the European Union proposes a budget draft that includes for Horizon 2020 a cut of 413 million euros in commitment credits with respect to the proposal of the European Commission. To this is added the recent news that the negotiations of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework will also include cuts that will possibly affect the next R&D framework program, Horizon Europe.

Given this situation, the CSIC calls on the European institutions to maintain the budget advanced by the European Commission for the last year of Horizon 2020 in the next negotiations and strongly urges them to preserve an ambitious budget for the next R&D framework program + i, Horizon Europe, thus confirming that research and innovation are one of the priorities of the European Union.

The CSIC supports the European Parliament's report on the position of the Council of the European Union regarding the draft of the EU general budget for the financial year 2020, especially with regard to the budget of Chapter 1a, Competitiveness for growth and employment. The CSIC also supports Parliament's proposal for the 2018 commitment appropriations that have been released as a result of the non-implementation of Horizon 2020 research projects.

The Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) is the largest public research body in Spain and is among the first research institutions in Europe, playing a key role in the scientific and technological policies of Spain and the world.

As of October 2019 , the CSIC has obtained 550 projects in Horizon 2020 with a total financial contribution from the EU of 236 million euros. The CSIC is the first organization in Spain and the third participant by number of projects in the current framework program (Horizon 2020).

This communication was first issued on 5 November 2019 by CSIC.