Spanish presidency of the EU Council has held talks on the final three years of Horizon Europe, as policymakers start to set outlines for the successor seven-year research framework programme.
EU research ministers discussed the next Horizon Europe strategic plan and science diplomacy in an informal meeting in Santander, with the feedback suggesting it was a fruitful discussion in which many ministers offered critical reflections on the future of EU research programmes.
Commission research chief Marc Lemaître was in the room as ministers discussed the Commission’s proposals to introduce a new Horizon Mission on the New European Bauhaus and ten new industrial partnerships in areas including brain health and forestry.
Looking to the future beyond Horizon Europe, ministers underlined the need ensure research money isn’t funnelled to policy-driven initiatives that have little to do with research, such as parts of the EU Chips Act.
As Brussels starts shaping the next seven-year EU research framework, due to start in 2028, there’s a need to find a better way to ensure EU-funded research and innovation delivers impact without diverting money from research to policy implementation and over-prioritising near-market innovation projects, the meeting heard.
