Commission's proposal for a new €100 billion R&D programme

The European Commission unveiled last week its proposal on Horizon Europe, the €100 billion research and innovation programme that will succeed the current Horizon 2020. The new programme will build on the achievements and success of Horizon 2020 and will continue the simplification process already started in the previous programme.

 As its predecessor, Horizon Europe will also be designed around three pillars:

1. The Open Science pillar (€25.8 billion) will support frontier research projects through the European Research Council (€16.6 billion); will finance fellowships and exchanges for researchers through Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (€6.8 billion), and will invests in world-class research infrastructures.
2. The Global Challenges and Industrial Competiveness pillar (€52.7 billion) will support research projects addressing societal challenges grouped in 5 main clusters and reinforce technological and industrial capacities.
3. The Open Innovation pillar (€13.5 billion) will support Europe’s efforts to become a frontrunner in market-creating innovation via the European Innovation Council, which will offer a one-stop shop to bring the most promising ideas from lab to real world application.

Some of the new elements included in the Commission's  proposal are the reinforcement of openness, with the principle of “open science” expected to become the modus operandi of Horizon Europe, requiring open access to publications and data, and the introduction of a new streamlined set of Partnerships with industry, civil society and funding foundations.

The Commission's proposal on Horizon Europe will now be assessed by the European Parliament and the Council. The goal is to have the Programme adopted by the 2019 EU Elections, in order to ensure a swift implementation starting with 1 January 2021.

For more information on R&D grants do not hesitate to contact Schuman Associates at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.