The Commission has approved the primary work programme of Horizon Europe for 2021-2022, which will receive €14.7 billion in funding. These investments will help accelerate the green and digital transitions and will contribute to sustainable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and to EU resilience against future crises. They will support European researchers through fellowships, training and exchanges, build more connected and efficient European innovation ecosystems and create world-class research infrastructures.

Around €5.8 billion will be invested in research and innovation to support the European Green Deal and to make the EU the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The funds will support projects that advance science, and that develop solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changing climate.

Making this decade Europe's Digital Decade is one of the core objectives of the programme. The development of core digital technologies will receive around €4 billion over the next two years. This will support the development of digital tools and data-enabled research and innovation in healthcare, media, cultural heritage and creative economy, energy, mobility and food production, supporting the modernisation of industrial models and fostering European industrial leadership.

Lastly, Horizon Europe will invest around €1.9 billion to help repair the immediate economic and social damage brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. In line with NextGenerationEU, the funding will contribute to building a post-coronavirus Europe that is not only greener and more digital but also more resilient. This includes topics that aim to modernise health systems and contribute to research capacities, in particular for vaccine development.

The work programme of Horizon Europe for 2021-2022 includes dedicated actions to support and strengthen cooperation through multilateral initiatives in areas such as biodiversity and climate protection, environmental observations, ocean research or global health. It also includes targeted actions with key non-EU partners, including the first-ever 'Africa Initiative'.

Horizon Europe is also open to all non-EU countries. The association of non-EU countries to Horizon Europe will enlarge the geographical scope of the overall programme and will offer additional opportunities for researchers, scientists, companies, institutions or other interested establishments to participate, with generally the same conditions as those of the Member States. 

Image © European Commission, 2021