Horizon 2020 set for 11 December kick-off

05 Dec 2013 | News
National governments give the final seal of approval to the EU’s budget for 2014-2020. Now, the first calls for Horizon 2020 grants will go live next week
By Joanne O'Dea

It’s new dawn: the final obstacle for Horizon 2020 has been passed, as ministers from across the EU approved the overall EU budget for 2014 – 2020, with Horizon 2020 securing a budget of €79 billion and opening the door for the first calls to be launched as promised on December 11.

The Council's decision on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) marked the end of over two years of heated negotiations. “For the research community, Horizon 2020 means valuable funding at a time when many countries are struggling to maintain science budgets,” said EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, welcoming the Council’s vote.

The approval unleashes €9.3 billion of Horizon 2020 funding for 2014 – with the draft work programs for 2014-2015 available to download from the Commission website. “I would urge interested researchers or businesses, which have not already done so, to have a look at these to get an idea of what’s in store and to see what is in it for them,” Geoghegan-Quinn said.

The programme is a major part of the EU’s jobs and growth plan, and as a result industrial competitiveness is in line for a large share of the budget. Almost €9 billion of Horizon 2020’s overall budget will go to small companies. “A further €8 billion is to be used to leverage further public and private investment in our future,” said Geoghegan-Quinn.

Much of this €8 billion will go to five public-private partnerships, or Joint Technology Initiatives, in bio-based industries, innovative medicines, aeronautics, electronics, and fuel cells and hydrogen.

However, DigitalEurope says some important concerns remain unaddressed in terms of increasing private sector involvement in Horizon 2020. “The legal framework places rigid limits on the way industry can use the intellectual property generated by joint research with other project partners,” the industry group said. This “could discourage the private sector – including companies from the ICT industry – from participating in Horizon 2020.”

While the deal did not meet all of the demands of interest groups in Brussels, the conclusion of negotiations was welcomed. “We are indeed relieved that everything is in place for the start of the programme on time,” said Talita Soares, Policy Officer at the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations. “The budget distribution between the three pillars is also good in our view,” she said.



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