Post-Brexit budget drives cuts in Horizon Europe

Eying the Brexit, the European Commission and Member States have to  handle a reduction in the EU’s next seven-year bugdet of €75bn (2021–2027). On Friday, EU leaders’ negiotiations to fill the hole left by the UK’s EU departure and set new priorities failed. The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden refused to increase its financial contributions to the EU budget, particularly to boost the Cohesion Funds and the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) by €4.4bn, including project funding of €2bn  supporting future technologies needed for the establishment of a sustainable bio-econonomy.

A long-term budget reduction would have harsh consequences for research and innovation as well as for its commercialisation by (biotech) SMEs. According to Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, whose country is also a net contributor such as the group of states led by The Netherlands, "the EU was a chance and not a bill”. EC President Ursula von der Leyen warned  that if there was no solution until December, “we will have no budget, we will have no Erasmus program, no resources for research, no resources for regional development or border protection” . Brussels insiders predicted that a consequence of a non-agreement was a delay in funding that could not start in January, but in March or April 2021.

The EC proposal for a new long-term budget foresees cuts of about €10bn per year compared to the original proposal resulting in a Horizon Europe budget reduction of €20m and 27% instead of 30% more money for CO₂ reduction and climate stabilisation – money needed to drive innovation.