Europe’s competitiveness – and its position in the race to a clean and digital economy – will depend on starting a new age of invention and ingenuity. This requires putting research and innovation, science and technology, at the centre of our economy.
We will increase our research spending to focus more on strategic priorities, on groundbreaking fundamental research and disruptive innovation, and on scientific excellence. To do this, we will expand the European Research Council and the European Innovation Council.
On 18 July 2024, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as European Commission President. Earlier in the day, she presented her Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2024-2029 to the European Parliament.
In her guidelines, Von der Leyen pledges to put research and innovation at the
heart of the EU’s economy through a European Prosperity Plan. Her proposals for research and innovation include:
- Ensuring access to new, tailored supercomputing capacity for AI start-ups and industry through an AI Factories initiative.
- Developing an Apply AI Strategy with Member States, industry and civil society to boost new industrial uses of AI and to improve the delivery of a variety of public services, such as healthcare.
- Setting up a European AI Research Council based on the approach taken with CERN.
- Putting forward a European Data Union Strategy, drawing on existing data rules to ensure a simplified, clear and coherent legal framework for businesses and administrations to share data seamlessly and at scale, while respecting
high privacy and security standards. - Expanding the European Research Council and the European Innovation Council.
- Proposing a new European Biotech Act in 2025 as part of a broader Strategy for European Life Sciences.
- Fostering new public-private partnerships, such as joint undertakings.
- Attracting new talents and retaining the best and brightest minds in Europe by strengthening University Alliances.
- Investing in research capacity for strategic and dual-use technologies.
The Commission President’s address to the European Parliament’s plenary is available on EbS+.
Reminder: Early information on the main Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2025
As the Work Programmes of Horizon Europe and other centrally-managed EU funding programmes address the political priorities of the European Commission, the 2025 Work Programme of Horizon Europe can only be published once the new College of Commissioners is in place, although it will still be developed primarily during 2024.
The remainder of the main Work Programme for 2025 (addressing EU political priorities), which does not include the ERC or the EIC (with their separate annual Work Programmes) will be developed during 2024 and published in early 2025.
UKRO will keep subscribers informed about any developments in this area via the UKRO Portal.