Pressure builds for top-ups to priority programmes including Horizon Europe
The latest attempts to secure a deal on the EU’s 2021-27 budget made marginal progress, negotiators indicated, as the European Commission’s former top R&D official, Robert-Jan Smits, warned that a deal is needed within weeks to ensure the continent does not “lose out”.
Following talks on 26 October, Sebastian Fischer, a spokesperson for governments in the Council of the EU, said there had been “some movement” but “gaps…remain” on agreeing top-ups for the European Parliament’s priority programmes relative to what national leaders agreed among themselves in July.