DIGITALEUROPE supports the EU’s strong commitment to Research & Innovation on digital issues
The European Commission has released last week its proposals for Horizon Europe, the new Framework Programme for Research & Innovation post-2020.
“With Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, the Connecting Europe Facility and InvestEU, the European Union shows a strong commitment to innovation in digital technologies, from research to deployment of technologies and digital services”, said Cecilia-Bonefeld, Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE.
According to the Commission proposal, the European Union will invest €94.1 billion in Research & Innovation (R&I) from 2021 to 2027. €15 billion will be allocated to a specific cluster on “digital and industry” research, with other budget lines contributing to crucial research subjects, such as cybersecurity.
The InvestEU fund will also allocate €11.25 billion in loans to R&I and digitisation investments, with 3.5 billion earmarked towards Horizon Europe.
This new budget for research shows a substantial increase from its predecessor Horizon 2020, especially as it has been drafted without the financial participation of the United Kingdom. This increased funding, if combined with simplified procedures and reduced administrative burden, should ensure strong industry participation and make Horizon Europe a success.
“This budget proposal is a step in the right direction to continue the much-needed digitalisation of Europe,but we must remember that Horizon 2020 suffered a 12% budget drop from the Commission’s proposal in 2011 to the version adopted in 2013 (from €80 billion to 70.2, in 2011 constant prices). DIGITALEUROPE urges the EU co-legislators, the Council and the European Parliament, to safeguard – or even to increase – the proposed budgets during the upcoming negotiations on the overall EU multi-annual financialframework (MFF)”, stressed Bonefeld-Dahl.
