Proposed cuts to the next European Union (EU) budget which would see funding for Horizon Europe slashed by €7 billion (£6 billion) will damage Europe’s competitiveness and innovation ambitions, leading university groups have warned.
Under the plan put forward by the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU, funding for Horizon Europe, the EU's next seven-year research framework, would be cut by nearly 4 per cent to €167.9 billion.
Funding for the European Competitiveness Fund and Erasmus+ would be reduced to €224.8 billion and €39.1 billion, respectively.
The European Commission has proposed €175 billion for Horizon Europe, €40.8 billion for Erasmus+ and €234.3 billion for the European Competitiveness Fund. Leading university groups have long advocated for €200 billion to be allocated to Horizon Europe.
The Cypriot presidency’s proposal would see the overall EU budget shrink by 2 per cent compared with the €2 trillion proposed last year. The compromise is known as a “negotiating box”.
