The European Commission adopted the first strategic plan for Horizon Europe on 15 March, the new EU research and innovation programme with a budget of €95.5 billion.

The strategic plan – a new feature of Horizon Europe – sets out the strategic orientations for investment in the first four years of the programme. It also ensures that research and innovation actions contribute to the EU's established priorities: these include, for example, climate neutrality and digitalisation.

Specifically, the plan defines four strategic orientations for R&I investment under Horizon Europe for the next four years:

• Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains;
• Ripristinare gli ecosistemi e la biodiversità in Europa e rendere sostenibile la gestione delle risorse naturali;
• Making Europe the first climate-neutral, sustainable, digital and circular economy.
• Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society.

The strategic plan also identifies the co-funded and co-programmed European partnerships and the EU missions to be supported through Horizon Europe. The partnerships will cover key areas such as energy, transport, biodiversity, health, food and circularity and will complement the ten institutionalised European partnerships proposed by the Commission in February.

The first calls for proposals will be launched in the spring of 2021 and will be presented at the European Research and Innovation Days to be held on 23 and 24 June.

The strategic plan can be downloaded at the bottom of the news item.

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