The FINANCIAL — Following up on the agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the EU’s 2019 budget, the European Commission is proposing to add €100 million to the EU’s flagship programmes Horizon 2020 and Erasmus +. This additional money will help strengthen the EU response to key challenges such as climate change and further adapting the education sector to the needs of the labour market.
“In December, the EU institutions agreed to increase the budget for research and student mobility as soon as we would have available means. Today, 100 million euros are added on top of what was already foreseen. This is great news for researchers and students in Europe as they will be able to count on more support from the EU for their projects.” – said Günther H. Oettinger, European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, said.
Out of the additional €100 million, €80 million will go to climate-related research under Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation programme. The money will contribute to the ambitious target of devoting 35% of Horizon 2020’s budget to climate-related research.
The remaining €20 million will support the EU’s programme for education, training, youth and sport in Europe, Erasmus+. This additional money will also help to build up European Universities, a new EU initiative and cornerstone of the European Education Area by 2025. By 2021, the EU wants to set up 12 European Universities which will allow students to obtain a degree by combining studies in several EU countries and contribute to the international competitiveness of European universities in the EU and beyond.
The proposal needs the approval of the European Parliament and of the Council.
