The European Commission has recently proposed the EU budget draft for 2024, placing significant emphasis on research and innovation. The total proposed budget is €189.3 billion, with a substantial portion of the funds allocated to Horizon Europe, the EU's leading program for financing research and development.
Horizon Europe aims to address global challenges, such as climate change, and to achieve the UN's sustainable development goals. Its goal is to strengthen the impact of research and innovation on the development, support, and implementation of EU policies. The program also plays a key role in promoting industrial competitiveness, creating jobs, and optimizing the impact of investments in an enhanced European research area.
€12.8 billion is allocated to the program, which is €400 million more than the previous year. This increase underscores the EU's commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and research despite the economic challenges posed by rapidly rising inflation and other exceptional difficulties in recent years.
The EU's dedication to research and innovation is further emphasized by the allocation of funds to the European Chips Act, a strategic initiative to strengthen technological capacities and competitiveness in the EU. The budget proposal suggests reallocating funds from other programs to support this initiative, indicating the EU's strategic focus on technology.
In addition to the budget allocated to Horizon Europe, the EU intends to complement the 2024 budget with €113 billion in grants under the "Next Generation EU" program. This pandemic recovery instrument will provide additional support for various EU priorities, including research and innovation.
The proposed budget for 2024 is part of the Union's long-term budget, adopted at the end of 2020, with subsequent adjustments. The EU aims to translate its priorities into annual outcomes, committing to allocate 30% of the long-term budget and the "Next Generation EU" instrument to combating climate change.
The increase in funds for Horizon Europe in 2024 demonstrates the EU's belief in the transformative power of research and innovation. It sends a clear message to researchers and innovators across the EU about the significance of their work in promoting economic growth and social progress.
Matej Tisaj, Tiko Pro