Relief as EU budget deal averts R&D funding delay

Breakthrough on 2021-27 spending followed by separate boost of €1.1 billion for European Research Council

European research and higher education leaders have welcomed two political breakthroughs reached by the EU, which have paved the way for the bloc’s 2021-27 programmes to start on time in January, and allocated increased funding to the flagship European Research Council.

On 10 December, national leaders in the European Council agreed a way to resolve their differences on the EU’s 2021-27 budget and Covid-19 recovery fund, totalling €1.8 trillion. The Hungarian and Polish governments had been vetoing the package over links to respect for the rule of law, and further disagreement could have delayed the start of the Horizon Europe R&D programme, among others.