Council of Ministers Progress on Horizon 2020 Programme

On 11 December ministers responsible for research met to further discuss the Horizon2020 programme, which will fund EU research and innovation during the period 2014 – 2020. They endorsed two elements of the package, i.e. the Horizon 2020 specific implementing programme and the strategic programme of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). These agreements will be partial general as the position of the European Parliament as well as the budget is not yet clear.

Now that the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry (ITRE) has adopted its negotiating position on the entire Horizon 2020 package – six legislative texts – the ministers have to adopt their common position on these texts, in particular the specific programme for implementing action sunder Horizon 2020. This programme defines and develops the specific objectives and the broad lines of the activities specific to each of the priorities of the framework programme, putting emphasis on implementation of the particular objectives and actions. It will include the following:

• scientific excellence, which includes frontier research activities of the European Research Council, emerging technologies, Marie Curie actions and research infrastructures;
• industrial leadership: to boost Europe’s industrial capacity in nanotechnologies, advanced materials, biotechnology and space;
• societal challenges, including the improvement of lifelong health and wellbeing.

For the proposed Programme:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm