Getting so much agreement in so little time is good news. Now EU research needs funding to match its ambitions, says Laura Keustermans.
A couple of weeks ago it seemed like a long shot, but in the end, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission pulled it off, announcing, on 20 March, a partial agreement on the next EU Framework programme for R&D. The Brussels research and innovation community heaved a sigh of relief.
Achieving at least a partial agreement in March has been the target since the Commission released its proposal for Horizon Europe in June 2018. This timeframe was necessary to allow the Commission to begin preparing the programme’s strategy and implementation. Also, it will hopefully avoid Horizon Europe being adopted only at the last minute.