On 6 December 2022, the European Commission officially adopted the main Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-24, with a budget of around €13.5 billion out of the Horizon Europe total budget of €95.5 billion.
€5.67 billion (over 42% of the work programme's budget) is dedicated to reaching key climate action objectives, finding innovative solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. €1.67 billion contributes to supporting biodiversity.
Over €4.5 billion will support the EU digital transition, including for the development of core digital technologies and encouraging their integration in our lives. Extensive support will also be provided to the New European Bauhaus, which aims to show the benefits of the green transition in people's daily lives and living spaces.
Nearly €970 million will be invested to help speed up the clean energy transition, in line with the REPower EU Plan, and increase Europe's energy independence from unreliable suppliers and volatile fossil fuels.
In 2023, the Work Programme will direct investments of more than €1 billion from NextGeneration EU towards Europe's recovery from the economic and social damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it supports research and innovation with €336 million to enhance pandemic preparedness and to respond to health emergencies. This is in line with the objectives of the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). It will also support critical infrastructures against physical and cyber threats to reinforce the EU resilience.
Targeted support to Ukraine is provided on top of the €70 million of dedicated measures already launched in 2022. New actions include reinforcing the access of researchers from Ukraine to European research infrastructures, continuing support to the health scientists from Ukraine, and supporting the climate-neutral reconstruction of several Ukrainian cities through the EU Mission for Climate-neutral and Smart Cities.
Regarding global challenges, the Horizon Europe work programme 2023-2024 covers actions to support and strengthen international initiatives in renewable energies, food systems, global health, environmental observations and more. It builds on the ‘Africa Initiative' and introduces the new ‘Mediterranean Initiative', responding to the new research and innovation agenda developed with the Union for the Mediterranean.
Concerning cooperation with China, the work programme will focus on tackling global challenges through two research flagship initiatives on Food, Agriculture, and Biotechnology and Climate Change and Biodiversity. The EC stresses that openness to international cooperation is balanced with the need to safeguard EU interests in strategic areas, in particular to promote the EU's open strategic autonomy and its technological leadership and competitiveness.
More than €600 million will be invested in the five EU Missions in 2023. This will support research and innovation, which is expected to result in, for example, better prepared local and regional authorities to face climate-related risks, the restoration of at least 25 000 km of free-flowing rivers, Climate City Contracts with 100 cities, the roll-out of soil monitoring programmes or optimise minimally-invasive diagnostic cancer interventions. The Commission expects missions to raise contributions from other funding sources, to reach an overall level of investment at the end of 2023 that surpasses investments made from Horizon Europe.
The first calls for proposals under the new Work Programme have opened on the 7 December 2022. Do you have innovation plans or ideas for a Horizon Europe proposal? PNO's experts will be happy to help you develop them, find consortium partners and submit an optimal application. Contact us directly by e-mail at projects@innovationplace.eu.
