European Parliament Votes to Adopt Horizon Europe

MEPs vote to approve EU research and innovation framework programme for 2021-27.

The European Parliament has voted to adopt Horizon Europe, the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for 2021-2027.

On 27 April, MEPs gave their final approval to the Programme with 677 votes to 5 and 17 abstentions on the Horizon Europe regulation, and 661 votes to 5 and 33 abstentions on the Horizon Europe specific programme.

Horizon Europe will have an overall budget of €95.5 billion, including €5.4 billion from the EU’s Next GenerationEU recovery plan, and an additional investment of €4 billion from the EU’s Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF).

Christian Ehler, rapporteur for the Horizon Europe specific programme welcomed the breakthrough, saying: “With this programme, the EU has also committed legally to defend academic freedom across the continent”. Ehler added: “We achieved an ambitious and balanced budget that strongly supports fundamental research as well as thematic research, including for the first time a specific budget for Europe’s cultural and creative industries. Horizon Europe will be a crucial part of Europe’s recovery”.

The European Commission will now be able to fully implement the much-delayed programme. Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation, confirmed that the Commission is still finalising details of calls scheduled for the first two years of Horizon Europe. “The final work is being done and will be published in the coming weeks,” said Gabriel.