17 Mar 2021
Council adopts position on Horizon Europe

On 16 March 2021, the Council of the EU formally adopted its position on Horizon Europe. This follows up on a deal reached last December with the European Parliament. The legal of text Horizon Europe, the Horizon Europe regulation, lays down the structure and the objectives of the programme, the budget, the forms of EU funding and the rules for providing such funding. It provides that 35 % of the expenditure for actions funded under the programme will have to contribute to climate objectives.
As a last necessary step for the formal adoption of the programme, the European Parliament has to approve the Council’s position. This is expected to happen in April 2021. The Horizon Europe regulation will apply retroactively from 1 January 2021.