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Work on the draft Horizon 2020 programme has been a priority of the Polish Presidency in the scientific realm. ‘I am happy that the draft document has emerged on time,’ emphasised Science and Higher Education Minister Professor Barbara Kudrycka who chaired Tuesday’s session of the Council on Competitiveness (COMPET) in Brussels. ‘For Europe, a well-designed programme to finance scientific research may be a significant stimulus to the economy, and at a time of economic crisis that is of key importance,’ Professor Kudrycka added. In her view, an important facet of the work on the Horizon 2020 package is to accelerate and render more efficient the process of transition from research results to innovative services and products.

For the first time ever, the Horizon 2020 programme has managed to concentrate all EU resources earmarked for financing scientific research and innovation in a single document. The draft has enshrined an easing of access to those resources for individual researchers as well as small and medium-size enterprises. Formalities have been cut back and regulations and procedures simplified. The purpose behind this is to attract a larger number of ambitious scientists and make it easier for smaller research teams to apply for grants.

EU Research and Innovation Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn emphasised that the budget of the new research finance programme will be of record size and will amount to €80 billion. ‘Scientific research and innovation will have its place in the European Union’s policy on economic growth. This gives grounds for optimism to our citizens,’ the commissioner remarked.

Horizon 2020 rests upon three basic pillars: support for scientific excellence, promoting European leadership in industry and re-orientating science to respond to the most urgent social challenges.

As regards the policy of supporting excellence in science, the most important thing is to reallocate funds to the most talented scientists and teams engaged in pioneering research projects as well as large-scale interdisciplinary studies capable of bringing about scientific breakthroughs. As far as support for industrial leadership is concerned, the European Union will support key technologies including micro and nanoelectronics, photonics, nanotechnologies, cosmic technologies, biotechnology and advanced materials.
The social challenges on which European science should concentrate include such areas as health, demographic change, food safety, sustainable agriculture and the bio-economy, safe and clean energy, intelligent, ‘green’ and integrated transport, action on climate issues, effective use of resources and raw materials as well as an inclusive and innovative society. All of €31.7 billion has been earmarked for this research.

Funds from the Horizon 2020 programme will be distributed by means of competitions, and the grants will go to individual researchers or research teams.
Work on the draft Horizon 2020 programme will be continued under the Danish Presidency which will take over from Poland in January 2012.