The European University Association-EUA states that the European Council's proposal for reducing the Commission’s proposal for the 2022 budget of the Horizon Europe program by more than €300 million came as a major surprise for the sector. The EUA, therefore, supports the European Parliament to reverse the cuts to Horizon Europe, and further strengthen it with an additional €305 million.
The importance of re-investment in research and innovation at the European level has never been clearer than during the pandemic. But it still remains difficult to convince member states to go beyond discourse and actually invest ambitiously in research and innovation. It is finally time to surpass critical underfunding of the EU’s R&I framework programs, to address a high share of excellent proposals not being funded, and boost the firepower of investments in R&I.
It is also crucial that the NextGenerationEU supports, rather than cuts funding for Horizon Europe. The R&I community in Europe, with universities at its core, is ready to deliver the research for a sustainable future, because now is the right time to invest in R&I in Europe.
We fully support the mission of EUA and believe that the budget cuts will be not only reversed but appropriately strengthened.