Universities welcome MEP initiative to save Horizon 2020

A plan put forward by MEPs to prevent immediate cuts to Horizon 2020 for an EU investment fund is a good move, universities have said.

The idea, proposed by the Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy committee on 9 March, is to change the European Commission’s plan to use €2.7bn from Horizon 2020 and €3.3bn from the Connecting Europe Facility for an EU investment fund. Instead, MEPs have proposed that the European Fund for Strategic Investments should be financed by funds introduced gradually through the EU’s annual budgetary procedure—opening the door to use money from any programme within the EU budget.

The European University Association has welcomed the idea, which was included in a draft report by the budget committee on 10 March. “We are pleased to see that the Parliament is taking up the concerns that we have put forward,” says Thomas Estermann, the director of governance, funding and policy at the EUA. “Having a plan to boost investment is a good idea, but taking the money from very important programmes such as Horizon 2020 is not.”