Following the European Council meeting last October 18, the budget for the future Horizon Europe research and innovation program could undergo major cuts.
The Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU has in fact proposed a reduction of the European budget 2021-2027 which overall could go from 35 to 85 billion euros, directly impacting also on the budget of Horizon Europe.
Negotiations on the budget are still far from a conclusion: the news of Germany and Holland’s refusal to increase the share of GDP to be allocated to the EU to compensate for the exit of Great Britain is very recent, while the countries in Eastern Europe oppose the Commission’s propensity to divert part of the resources for the agricultural sector and the less developed regions in favor of research and innovation.
Nothing has been agreed and we await the December summit to start substantial negotiations, further delaying any final decision on the future EU budget, while there is a risk of not being able to define the necessary legislative bases by the end of 2020, the end of the current schedule.
(Source: FIRST)