Boost for EU research in green and health innovation
Researcher - Photo © Alexander Raths - Fotolia
(BRUSSELS) - An amendment to the Horizon Europe Programme, adopted Tuesday by the EU Commission, increases its budget by nearly EUR 562m to support innovative solutions to green, health and digital challenges.
The budget for 2021 and 2022 of the programme, which includes actions to boost the European innovation ecosystem, now reaches a total of nearly EUR 16 billion.
Horizon Europe is the EU's EUR 95.5 billion research and innovation programme for 2021-2027 and the successor of Horizon 2020.
Missions are a novelty of Horizon Europe and support EU priorities such as the European Green Deal, Europe fit for the Digital Age, Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, An economy that works for people and the New European Bauhaus.
"These additional investments in research and innovation will help us to deliver on key policies," said EC vice-president Margrethe Vestager: "Horizon Europe shows not only its forward looking vision to create a healthier, greener and digital Europe but also its solidarity to support displaced researchers of Ukraine."
Of the additional amount, EUR 507.1m is dedicated to the five EU Missions, a new and innovative way to bring solutions to some key challenges working together with people in Europe and beyond.
Launched in September 2021, they aim to achieve ambitious goals in health, climate and the environment by 2030.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the amendment also includes actions to support researchers previously active in Ukraine.
Under the new MSCA4Ukraine scheme, part of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), €25 million will allow displaced researchers to continue their work at an academic or non-academic host organisation in the EU Member States or in countries associated to Horizon Europe, and support them re-establishing themselves in Ukraine when that becomes possible to rebuild the country's research and innovation capacity.
Hundreds of Ukrainian scientists will also be able to benefit from an increased budget of €1 million to the Human Frontier Science Programme for the initiative of "scientists help scientists", as part of Horizon Europe's Cluster 1 'Health'.
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