The Government of Hungary has recently set up a guarantee fund to support the participation of Hungarian universities operated by public interest trust foundations in Horizon Europe projects. Following the Council’s Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 on measures to protect the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary from 15 December 2022, these universities are precluded from obtaining EU funding.
As previously reported by UKRO, the Commission has confirmed that Hungarian higher education institutions operated by public interest trust foundations established under Hungarian Act IX of 2021 can still apply to Horizon Europe’s calls for proposals and participate in the winning projects. If successful, the universities concerned can join successful consortia as Associated Partners and carry out the project tasks assigned to them without receiving EU funding.
The Government of Hungary has therefore decided to provide funding for the 21 universities operated by public interest trust foundations participating in winning Horizon Europe projects to help facilitate their participation in EU research and innovation projects. The funding will be provided through the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, in the total amount of HUF 5 billion in the first round.
Further information on this dedicated funding for the affected Hungarian universities is provided on the dedicated website of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office.