The European Parliament’s industry, research and energy committee has adopted the Innovation Investment Package, which includes Joint Technology Initiatives.
The IIP falls under different regulation than Horizon 2020 and is therefore still under negotiation, even though the overall Framework Programme budget has been settled. The committee adopted the package, including six JTIs and the Eurostars and Ambient Assisted Living public-public partnerships during a session on 18 March.
The package has come under criticism from academics after its proposed budget was reduced by somewhat less than the overall Horizon 2020 European Commission proposal. This has left some Horizon 2020 programmes, including several societal challenges, with bigger reductions than were initially expected.
The IIP was subject to intense negotiations between the Parliament and the Council of Ministers during the past few weeks. At the start of the talks, the Parliament wanted a 12 per cent reduction for the package, in line with Horizon 2020’s final budget. The Council wanted no reduction at all, saying that these would be too damaging as funding for IIP programmes is generally matched by industry and governments.
The final compromise includes cuts of 5 per cent to the proposed budget of the Innovative Medicines Initiative and the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Initiative, and a 2.5 per cent cut to other JTIs. Public-public partnerships escaped with no cuts.
The package will now have to be adopted by the whole Parliament during plenary, while the Council must also sign off the final deal. The package is expected to be adopted before the European elections in May to allow the initiatives to start on time.