Commission to Invest €14.7 Billion from Horizon Europe for a Healthier, Greener and more Digital Europe

European CommissionThe Commission has adopted the main work programme of Horizon Europe for the period 2021-2022, which outlines the objectives and specific topic areas that will receive a total of €14.7 billion in funding. These investments will help accelerate the green and digital transitions and will contribute to sustainable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and to EU resilience against future crises. They will support European researchers through fellowships, training and exchanges, build more connected and efficient European innovation ecosystems and create world-class research infrastructures. Moreover, they will encourage participation across Europe and from around the world, while at the same time strengthening the European Research Area.

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said: "This Horizon Europe work programme will support European researchers, deliver top quality, excellent research and innovation, for the benefit of us all. Covering the full research and innovation cycle, from the lab to the market, it will bring researchers and innovators from all over the world closer together, to address the issues we are facing."

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: "With 40% of its budget devoted to making Europe more sustainable, this Horizon Europe work programme will make Europe greener and fitter for the digital transformation. Horizon Europe is now fully open for business: I would like to encourage researchers and innovators from all over the EU to apply and find solutions to improve our daily lives."

Horizon Europe delivers on climate neutrality and digital leadership

More than four in ten euros - around €5.8 billion in total - will be invested in research and innovation to support the European Green Deal and the Union's commitment to make the EU the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The funds will support projects that advance the science of climate change, and that develop solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changing climate. For example, activities will accelerate the transition towards clean energy and mobility in a sustainable and fair way, help adapt food systems and support the circular and bio-economy, maintain and enhance natural carbon sinks in ecosystems, and foster adaptation to climate change.

Making this decade Europe's Digital Decade and laying the groundwork for new digital enterprises even further into the future are also core objectives of the programme, which will ensure a substantial increase of investment in this area. For instance, it will help maximise the full potential of digital tools and data-enabled research and innovation in healthcare, media, cultural heritage and creative economy, energy, mobility and food production, supporting the modernisation of industrial models and fostering European industrial leadership. The development of core digital technologies will be supported with around €4 billion over 2021-2022.

Finally, this work programme will direct investments of around €1.9 billion in total towards helping repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. In line with NextGenerationEU, the funding will contribute to building a post-coronavirus Europe that is not only greener and more digital but also more resilient for the current and forthcoming challenges. This includes topics that aim to modernise health systems and contribute to research capacities, in particular for vaccine development. International cooperation for bigger impact: strategic, open, and reciprocal

International cooperation in research and innovation is essential for tackling global challenges and to enable Europe to access resources, know-how, scientific excellence, value chains and markets that are developing in other areas of the world. In May 2021, the Commission presented a Global Approach to Research and Innovation, Europe's strategy for international cooperation in a changing world. With this, the EU aims to deliver solutions and facilitate global responses to global challenges, based on multilateralism, openness and reciprocity.

The work programme of Horizon Europe for 2021-2022 includes dedicated actions to support and strengthen cooperation through multilateral initiatives in areas such as biodiversity and climate protection, environmental observations, ocean research or global health. It also includes targeted actions with key non-EU partners, including the first ever ambitious and comprehensive 'Africa Initiative'.

Horizon Europe is by default open to the world. The association of non-EU countries to Horizon Europe will enlarge the geographical scope of the overall programme and will offer additional opportunities for researchers, scientists, companies, institutions or other interested establishments to participate, with generally the same conditions as those of the Member States. In order to safeguard the EU's strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, and in line with Article 22.5 of the Horizon Europe Regulation, the programme will limit participation in a very small number of actions. Such limitation will be exceptional and duly justified, in agreement with the Member States and in full respect of the EU's commitments under bilateral agreements.

Next Steps

The first calls for proposals will open on the Commission's Funding and Tenders Portal on 22 June. The European Research and Innovation Days on 23 and 24 June mark the occasion to discuss Horizon Europe amongst policymakers, researchers, innovators and citizens. Horizon Europe Information Days targeting potential applicants take place between 28 June and 9 July.

Source: European Commission

Most Popular Now

Open Medical Works with Moray's Dig…

Open Medical is working with the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre’s Rural Centre of Excellence on a referral management plan, as part of a research and development scheme to...

Generative AI on Track to Shape the Futu…

Using advanced artificial intelligence (AI), researchers have developed a novel method to make drug development faster and more efficient. In a new paper, Xia Ning, lead author of the study and...

AI could Help Improve Early Detection of…

A new study led by investigators at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect interval breast cancers - those that develop between...

Reorganisation, Consolidation, and Cuts:…

NHS England has been downsized and abolished. Integrated care boards have been told to change function, consolidate, and deliver savings. Trusts are planning big cuts. The Highland Marketing advisory board...

AI-Human Task-Sharing could Cut Mammogra…

The most effective way to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) when screening for breast cancer may be through collaboration with human radiologists - not by wholesale replacing them...

Siemens Healthineers infection Control S…

Klinikum Region Hannover (KRH) has commissioned Siemens Healthineers to install infection control system (ICS) at the Klinikum Siloah hospital. The ICS aims to effectively tackle nosocomial infections and increase patient...

AI Tool Uses Face Photos to Estimate Bio…

Eyes may be the window to the soul, but a person's biological age could be reflected in their facial characteristics. Investigators from Mass General Brigham developed a deep learning algorithm...

Philips Future Health Index 2025 Report …

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today unveiled its 2025 Future Health Index U.S. report, "Building trust in healthcare AI," spotlighting the state of...

AI-Powered Precision: Unlocking the Futu…

A team of researchers from the Department of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Ultrasonography at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, have published a review in Cancer Biology & Medicine...

AI Model Improves Delirium Prediction, L…

An artificial intelligence (AI) model improved outcomes in hospitalized patients by quadrupling the rate of detection and treatment of delirium. The model identifies patients at high risk for delirium and...

Building Trust in Artificial Intelligenc…

A new review, published in the peer-reviewed journal AI in Precision Oncology, explores the multifaceted reasons behind the skepticism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in healthcare and advocates for approaches...

SALSA: A New AI Tool for the Automated a…

Investigators of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology's (VHIO) Radiomics Group, led by Raquel Perez-Lopez, have developed SALSA (System for Automatic Liver tumor Segmentation And detection), a fully automated deep...