Horizon Europe facts for kids
Horizon Europe is a big plan by the European Union to support science and new ideas. It's like a special fund that helps scientists and researchers work on important projects. This program lasts for seven years, from 2021 to 2027. It's the follow-up to an earlier program called Horizon 2020, and it aims to spend much more money on science.
Contents
Money for Science (Budget)
Horizon Europe started in 2021 with a budget of about €95.5 billion. That's a lot more than the €77 billion spent on the previous program, Horizon 2020.
Many people thought the final amount of money would be less after long talks with the European Parliament and EU countries. But Carlos Moedas, who used to be in charge of research for the EU, wanted more money for science. To get support for the bigger budget, he used an idea from the United States called "moonshots." This means focusing research on big, exciting goals, like sending people to the moon, to get everyone interested.
What the Program Does (Details)
The plan was to spend €100 billion on research and new ideas between 2021 and 2027. A small part of this money, €2.4 billion, is set aside for Euratom, which is a program for nuclear research. Another €3.6 billion goes into a special fund called InvestEU, which helps with investments.
Some richer EU countries, like the Netherlands, weren't happy about the increased spending. Their prime minister, Mark Rutte, even said the plan was "unacceptable."
To pay for the €100 billion science budget, the European Commission suggested cutting money from farming and other development funds by 5 percent. They also wanted to link the funding to whether countries followed the rule of law, which means having fair laws and independent courts.
Compared to the old Horizon 2020 program, Horizon Europe has made it simpler for researchers to report their costs. This helps make managing the grants easier.
Working with Other Countries (Cooperation beyond the EU)
Horizon Europe works with many partners, including the EU, national governments, and private companies. Together, they support research and new ideas. Horizon Europe has also welcomed countries outside the 27 EU member states to join. Here are some of them:
- In October 2021, Ukraine joined as an associate member. This means they can take part in the program.
- In November 2021, Armenia also became an associate member.
- In December 2021, Israel, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia joined as associate members.
- In August 2022, the United Kingdom started talks because they wanted to join the program too.
- In December 2022, New Zealand became an associate member.
- Switzerland is currently a "non-associated third country." This means that for parts of the program they can join, the Swiss government pays for its own researchers directly.
See also
- Science and technology in Europe
