The EU research ministers reached agreement on the open issues of the Horizon Europe legislation and are ready for negotiations with the European Parliament.
Suddenly everything went very fast: The Horizon Europe package was waiting to be finalised since the European Parliament (EP) and the Council had reached a common understanding back in spring 2019 – the thorough preparation of the Council meeting on 29 September in Brussels now allowed for a swift general approach on all remaining issues. The European Council compromise on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) and the recovery instrument Next Generation EU on 21 July 2020 was also an important precondition for the general approach research ministers have now reached on the Horizon Europe regulation and the specific programme implementing the next research and innovation framework programme.
Issues still open in the Council included the budget distribution within Horizon Europe, provisions regarding the funding from Next Generation EU, international cooperation and association of third countries, synergies with other EU programmes, and provisions subject to horizontal guidance. The Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) that had been preparing the Council meeting on 23 September was already able to find common ground on most of the issues. Research ministers, chaired by the German minister for education and research, Anja Karliczek, only had to decide about the final budget distribution within Horizon Europe and aspects of international cooperation. The budget breakdown within Horizon Europe needed to be adjusted after the European Council had cut the budget, compared to the European Commission’s (EC) initial proposal in 2018 (see SwissCore article). Ministers on 29 September decided to implement the budget cuts proportionally across the different Horizon Europe instruments, with one exception: The final deal includes a shift of €200 million from the European Innovation Council to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. This last change was supported by most delegations as it allows for supporting researchers at the beginning of their career.
Furthermore, the ministers discussed the right balance between openness of Horizon Europe to international partners and protecting strategic interests of the EU. The general approach on the Horizon Europe regulation now includes a provision in article 18(5) that entities established in the EU or in associated countries that are controlled by non-associated third-countries may be excluded from individual calls under Horizon Europe for “duly justified and exceptional reasons” in order to protect the strategic interests of the EU or its Member States. However, as some Member States expressed concern that this provision might limit Europe’s ability to innovate, a statement by a group of delegations led by Sweden was entered in the minutes of the Council meeting. It mentions that Horizon Europe “must be as open as possible” and that exclusion from participation in the framework programme must be strictly limited and “in these cases, clear conditions and criteria must apply”.
The provisions on association of third countries remained unchanged in the general approach, compared to the initial EC proposal. Thus, Switzerland continues to be part of the category of “third countries” under article 12(1)(d) of the Horizon Europe regulation. The ministers also discussed the involvement of Member States in the future negotiations for association agreements with third countries. Commissioner Mariya Gabriel (Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth) delivered a statement, also to be entered into the minutes of the Council, about the EC’s commitment to ensure the greatest involvement of the Council in the forthcoming negotiations. She instructed her services to “ensure the greatest possible transparency at all phases of the negotiation at technical level with the Council”.
The Council is now ready to start trilogue negotiations with the EP and the EC. Minister Karliczek mentioned two goals for these talks: Preserving as much as possible of the general approach reached by the Member States and making sure that the Horizon Europe programme can start on 01 January 2021. Ahead of the Council meeting on 29 September, lead members of the EP had reiterated their call on EU research ministers for a stronger financial commitment for Horizon Europe.