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The Horizon Europe Leaks: EU Plans €438M for Democracy, Economics and Culture Research in 2025

The Horizon Europe Leaks: EU Plans €438M for Democracy, Economics and Culture Research in 2025

"Radicalisation and extremism" and the rise of autocracies are a focus of next year’s draft work programme.

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Science

Call for More EU Investment in R&D After Trump Win

Science

Call for More EU Investment in R&D After Trump Win

Worries are mounting in Europe after Donald Trump won a second term in the White House, with the EU scrambling to chart a future in which it is less dependent on the US for defence and technology.

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Draft Council Declaration Sets R&I Spending Target at 4% of GDP

Draft Council Declaration Sets R&I Spending Target at 4% of GDP

EU leaders are considering setting a target for public and private research and innovation spending to reach 4% of GDP, even as they cut national research budgets and show no signs of meeting the current 3% target.

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Dual Use

Dual Use Research in FP10 Could Cause Problems for Associated Countries, Says EU's Chief Negotiator

Dual Use

Dual Use Research in FP10 Could Cause Problems for Associated Countries, Says EU's Chief Negotiator

Brussels is preparing to radically overhaul its research and innovation programmes and there's some concern that non-EU associated countries could be shut out by the proposed changes.

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European Research Council Needs to Remain Independent in FP10, Maria Leptin Says

European Research Council Needs to Remain Independent in FP10, Maria Leptin Says

European research and innovation policy will be undergoing a major restructuring in the coming years, and for Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council (ERC), it's not good news if the reforms result in less independence for the research funder.

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Time for a Major Shakeup of How the EU Funds Research, Expert Group Says

Time for a Major Shakeup of How the EU Funds Research, Expert Group Says

A group of experts tasked with advising the European Commission on the next Framework Programme for research and innovation is recommending a major overhaul of EU funding instruments.

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European Research Council Winners and Losers in Horizon Europe

European Research Council Winners and Losers in Horizon Europe

Recently released data from the European Commission has shone a light on which countries do particularly well or poorly at winning grants from the European Research Council (ERC) and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), compared to their national wealth.

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EU Needs to Experiment with New R&I Funding Mechanisms, Heitor Report Says

Innovation

EU Needs to Experiment with New R&I Funding Mechanisms, Heitor Report Says

The way the EU funds research and innovation isn't really working, and the European Commission needs to experiment with new ways to do it, according to a new influential report on the future of the EU's research and innovation framework programmes.

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Call for Dedicated Fund for Civil Security Research and Deployment

Call for Dedicated Fund for Civil Security Research and Deployment

Industry is calling on the EU to step up investment in civil security by setting up a new programme covering everything from research to procurement - which could mean moving existing research support out of Horizon Europe.

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Commission Prepares to Bundle All Research and Innovation Money into Competitiveness Fund

Commission Prepares to Bundle All Research and Innovation Money into Competitiveness Fund

The European Commission is making moves to bundle all research and innovation funds into a new mega competitiveness fund that would be launched under the new multiannual budget due to start in 2028.

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EU MEPs Reject Cuts to Research and Innovation

EU MEPs Reject Cuts to Research and Innovation

MEPs have voted for a €242 million boost to Horizon Europe for next year, as part of a bid to head off a total of €1.52 billion in cuts member states have proposed to the 2025 EU budget. The European Parliament committee on budgets adopted its position on next year's budget at a meeting in Strasbourg on Monday.

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Eastern Europe

Western Balkans Research Sector Looks for Closer Relations with EU

Eastern Europe

Western Balkans Research Sector Looks for Closer Relations with EU

Science ministers in the Western Balkans and the EU agreed to intensify collaboration in research and innovation at a meeting in Skopje last week, but researchers and stakeholders say underinvestment and political disagreements could hamper progress. With countries in the region currently going through the EU accession process, officials in Brussels have praised the Western Balkans for getting more and more involved in EU research collaborations.

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Research Organisations Call for More Funding for Marie Curie Actions

Careers

Research Organisations Call for More Funding for Marie Curie Actions

Thirteen organisations representing European research and innovation have come together to urge the Commission to increase the budget for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), the EU's doctoral and postdoctoral training programme.

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Singapore 'Respects Human Rights' Claims the Commission in 'Sensitive' Horizon Europe Document

Singapore 'Respects Human Rights' Claims the Commission in 'Sensitive' Horizon Europe Document

The European Commission has talked up Singapore's record on democracy and human rights to member states to justify the city state's inclusion in the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.

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Public-private Partnerships Should Be Preserved in FP10, Says Eszter Lakos

Public-private Partnerships Should Be Preserved in FP10, Says Eszter Lakos

Research and innovation is shaping up to have a central role in the EU's new competitiveness agenda, but Hungarian MEP Eszter Lakos, who was involved in the negotiations for Horizon Europe, is worried about what this will mean for its successor scheme, framework programme 10 (FP10).

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Universities Not in Favour of Dual-use Research

Universities Not in Favour of Dual-use Research

Universities and academic institutions have largely rejected a European Commission proposal to allow dual use research projects in FP10, the successor programme to Horizon Europe due to start in 2028. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Brussels and national capitals worry whether the EU could defend itself if directly attacked by Moscow, and want to step up defence R&D in response.

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UK Signals Interest in Joining FP10

UK Signals Interest in Joining FP10

The UK is "interested in potentially associating" to FP10, the EU's next research and innovation programme, according to a new position paper released by London.

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Web

EU Ministers Lobby Zaharieva to Keep Widening Going in FP10

EU Ministers Lobby Zaharieva to Keep Widening Going in FP10

Well ahead of a proposal by the European Commission for the next framework programme for research member states are haggling between "the friends of excellence" and countries with less-well developed research systems.

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Draghi Report: Could the EU Set Up Its Own Darpa-like Agency?

Draghi Report: Could the EU Set Up Its Own Darpa-like Agency?

The former Italian prime minister wants more breakthrough innovation, using a radically different model.

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Brussels Rumour Mill Churns the Scenarios for Next Research Commissioner

Brussels Rumour Mill Churns the Scenarios for Next Research Commissioner

Stakeholders in the Brussels research and innovation bubble are fretting over who will be the next EU commissioner for research and innovation, as member states haggle over portfolios hoping for more political influence in the coming five years.

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New Survey Unveils Hidden Costs of EU-Hungary Tussle over Research Funding

Hungary

New Survey Unveils Hidden Costs of EU-Hungary Tussle over Research Funding

A new report by the Hungarian Young Academy shows around 40% of early career researchers have experienced some form of negative consequence of the EU funding ban.

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Chinese Export Rules Make Collaboration Riskier, Researchers Warned

China

Collaboration

Chinese Export Rules Make Collaboration Riskier, Researchers Warned

As European universities weigh China collaborations in a darkening geopolitical environment, they also need to worry about whether Beijing's increasingly tough export control rules could deny Europeans access to jointly developed technology, a think tank has warned in a new analysis.

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Germany Mulls New Research Security Organisation

Collaboration

Germany Mulls New Research Security Organisation

After meeting with counterparts in Washington DC, the US’s new SECURE Centre could be a model for Germany to follow.

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What's on the EU Research and Innovation Policy Agenda for Autumn 2024?

What's on the EU Research and Innovation Policy Agenda for Autumn 2024?

After several crisis-filled years characterised by wars, pandemic and economic challenges, the recent European elections and subsequent summer break offer an opportunity to pause and take stock.

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Web

Evaluation

Processing Horizon Europe Grants is Taking 23 Days Longer Than Horizon 2020

Evaluation

Processing Horizon Europe Grants is Taking 23 Days Longer Than Horizon 2020

Horizon Europe is in its third year, and nearing the halfway point, analysis of how the programme is progressing is beginning to roll in.

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Repression Grows in Russian Universities

Repression Grows in Russian Universities

Civil rights activists report that any criticism of the war in Ukraine is being stifled. Militarisation and ideological indoctrination are also increasing.

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Viewpoint: Why Europe Must Invest in Research Infrastructures Now

Infrastructures

Europe

Viewpoint: Why Europe Must Invest in Research Infrastructures Now

As we move further into the 21st century, the importance of scientific research and technological innovation is becoming ever more apparent. Our ability to address critical challenges - from climate change to global health threats - depends on the strength and quality of our research and development efforts as enablers of innovation.

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How German Academia is Becoming More Aware of China Risks

China

Germany

How German Academia is Becoming More Aware of China Risks

Collaboration requests are now being scrutinised much more closely – and in some cases rejected

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Inside Germany's Sprind Innovation Agency, the Anti-Horizon Europe

Germany

Inside Germany's Sprind Innovation Agency, the Anti-Horizon Europe

About a 15-minute walk from Leipzig's main train station, past office blocks, hardware stores and garden centres, sits a former railway logistics building near the end of a dilapidated road in a warren of tired-looking warehouses. As you approach, there's little to suggest that it contains Germany's great hope for re-invigorating its economy.

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Von Der Leyen Vows to Increase EU Research Spending in New Term

Von Der Leyen Vows to Increase EU Research Spending in New Term

Ursula von der Leyen promised to put research and innovation "at the centre of our economy" as she laid out her plans for the next five years, before the European Parliament voted to confirm her second term as president of the European Commission. A total of 401 MEPs voted in favour of von der Leyen's re-election this afternoon, and 284 voted against, making for a more comfortable majority than her first vote in 2019.