Horizon Europe negotiations shape up for October start

Negotiations on the next Horizon Europe programme look set to start in October, if both the European Parliament and EU Council hit their current markers. This is around 10 months later in the process than the 2018 negotiations for the present Horizon Europe, but not yet a reason to panic.

The Parliament’s research committee plans to adopt its reports on the next Horizon Europe, also known as Framework Programme 10 (FP10), and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) on September 10. Adoption in plenary should follow on October 5, which means that negotiations with the Council could begin in the middle of the month. 

These talks are known as trilogues, because the European Commission assists discussions, without having a say in the outcome. 

If the Council and Parliament start talking in October, they have 14 months to reach an agreement. Last time, the trilogues lasted three months, although the need to restructure the EU budget because of the Covid pandemic meant that the programme started with a considerable delay.

This time around, EU leaders are keen to avoid delays. In April, Council President António Costa told governments they have a “collective responsibility” to reach an agreement on the EU budget by the end of the year, so that the new budget can be ready from the beginning of 2028.

Parliament sorts amendments

The Parliament’s research committee will meet on June 3, June 24-25, July 13-14 and September 1 to sort through the thousands of amendments to the FP10 and ECF reports. 

For the ECF these cover topics such as the definition of competitiveness, the flexibility of the budget and the geographical balance of allocations. For the FP10 proposal, issues include its formal ties to the ECF, new funding instruments and the size of research partnerships.

Related articles

• EU missed artificial intelligence targets due to Horizon Europe delay, auditors find
• EU governments miss target for FP10 agreement
• ECF must focus limited budget on key priorities, lead MEPs warn

The committee will vote on its FP10 and ECF reports on September 10. The FP10 report is pencilled in for a first reading in plenary on October 5. No date has yet been formally set for the ECF.

If these positions pass, trilogues can begin, but if they are sent back to the research committee for further amendment there will be a delay.

Council meetings in June 

Things are moving a little faster in the Council, although a plan to have a partial position on FP10 agreed this week appears to be off. The ECF, meanwhile, is being handled by the general affairs council, which will discuss a position on June 16.

Heads of government meet in Brussels on June 18 and 19 to discuss the EU’s long-term budget, after which the Cypriot presidency aims to have a “well-thought-out negotiating box” ready. This will be picked up in the Irish presidency in the second half of the year.

It is this financial negotiation that will determine what is possible in the next Horizon Europe, with both the Commission proposal and Parliament’s initial response asking for more money than governments will want to pay.

These budgetary questions are most likely to be resolved after the trilogues on individual programmes such as FP10 and the ECF have started, and risk obstructing the path to a final agreement.