Latvia and Lithuania have long paid in more to the budget of the EU’s research programmes than they get out, but now the two Baltic states are taking steps to change that in the next research programme, Horizon Europe.
Latvia is hoping to up its game by getting the national innovation agency more involved with the programme, while Lithuania is planning to strengthen its network of national contact points, with €50 million allocated to the cause as part of the country’s COVID-19 economic stimulus plan.
Since they joined the EU in 2004, the two countries have struggled to get enough money out of the Framework research programmes to justify paying in. Lithuania, for example, pays in three times more than it receives from the programme.
From Horizon 2020, with its total budget of €77 billion, Latvia has to date received €90 million, while Lithuania has secured only €78 million. Compared to previous framework programmes, the two countries are making progress, however, it has been relatively slow.
