European Commission Embraces R&D Strategy Plan

The plan provides strategic orientation for Horizon Europe through to 2027 and includes nine co-funded and co-programmed partnerships. Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) key research and innovation funding program for the period 2021 to 2027 with a budget of EUR 95.5 billion.

The green and digital transitions and the creation of a more resilient, competitive, inclusive and democratic Europe remain the three strategic orientation positions for the remaining three years of the framework program. At least 35 percent of Horizon Europe funding will be distributed for climate protection measures and 10 percent set aside for biodiversity measures. Some EUR 13 billion will be invested in digital technologies to ensure competitiveness and enable the green transformation on completion of the program in 2027.

The strategic plan also identifies nine new European co-funded and co-programmed partnerships: Brain Health, Forests and Forestry for a Sustainable Future, Innovative Materials for EU, Raw Materials for the Green and Digital Transition, Resilient Cultural Heritage, Social Transformations and Resilience, Solar Photovoltaics, Textiles of the Future and Virtual Worlds.

In 2025, a new instrument will be introduced: the “New European Bauhaus” (NEB). The NEB seeks to bring together citizens, municipalities, experts, businesses, and academic and other institutions to enable cross-cluster continuation and further development. The NEB will be implemented as a cross-cluster issue in the Horizon Europe work programs for the period 2025 to 2027. This research and innovation instrument will be complemented by a roll-out component that will be delivered through synergies with other EU initiatives.