• H2020
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• European Research Council

The head of the European Research Council (ERC) has repeated her concerns over cuts to the EU’s research budget.

Attending the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Boston, US, Dr Helga Nowotny said there was still a great deal of uncertainty over the EU’s research and innovation spending.

Earlier this month, European heads of government agreed an EU budget of €960bn between 2014 and 2020, the first time the EU has reduced its spending. The announcement saw a 12% decrease in the funding allocation for research and development, with Horizon 2020, the EU’s next research and innovation framework, now expected to receive €71bn.

The Multiannual Financial Framework is currently being debated and must be passed by the European Parliament before the budget comes into force. Previously, the Parliament had eyed a budget of €100bn for Horizon 2020.

“It is pure speculation to say what is going to happen in the Parliament,” Nowotny said at the conference in Massachusetts, adding that the reduction in the EU spending was likely “to hit research and innovation in a disproportionate way.”

The outgoing head of the ERC head said that this was widely expected as member states moved to safeguard spending for agriculture and infrastructure development in poorer member states.

According to the Irish Times, the Parliament has threatened to veto the EU budget if research spending is cut.