2021: millions rained down to finance projects

2021 has been an excellent year for EU projects, during which companies, universities and public administrations have benefited from European funds. Here are some of the most interesting EU programmes that have provided large grants and loans to a wide array of projects.

EU4Health

The largest health programme in history in financial terms, EU4Health was created to address the Covid-19 pandemic by providing funding to EU countries, NGOs and health organisations. The programme has €5.1 billion to support actions in four broad areas: improving and promoting EU health; combating cross-border health threats; strengthening the resilience and efficiency of health systems; and, finally, improving medicines and medical devices for the coronavirus crisis. New calls for projects with a budget of €43,850,000 were published at the end of 2021.

INTERREG EUROPE

The INTERREG programme aims to improve cohesion policy through the exchange of experience, transfer of good practices and joint initiatives among EU Member States, as well as Norway and Switzerland, around thematic objectives (such as innovation and technological development, competitiveness of SMEs, low-carbon economy and environmental protection and resource efficiency).

INTERREG Europe targets local and regional institutions, public administrations, regional development agencies and educational institutions to create networks and exchange experiences on different topics, thus generating regional best practices at a European level. In 2021, 124 projects were implemented, and a new call for funding will be launched in January 2022.

LIFE Programme

This is the European Union’s specific programme for the environment and climate action for the period 2021-2027, and one of the main drivers of the European Green Pact. In its two main areas of action, it has four sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity; circular economy and quality of life; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and finally, transition to clean energy.

Its total financial envelope amounts to €5,432 million, 85% of which will be grants. In 2021, 66 projects were carried out under the LIFE Programme, which has a single annual call for proposals that is usually published before August. The European Commission has approved more than 290 million euros for the 2022 financial year.

European Defence Fund (EDF)

2021 was the first year of EDF’s implementation, with a budget of €7,953 million for the period 2021-2027. Its objective is to stimulate the competitiveness, efficiency and innovation capacity of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base. In doing so, EDF contributes to the strategic autonomy of the Union by supporting collaborative actions and cross-border cooperation among legal entities across the EU, in particular SMEs.

It also aims to strengthen and improve the agility of defence supply chains, extending cross-border cooperation between legal entities and fostering better exploitation of the industrial potential of innovation, research and technological developments, at all stages of the life cycle of defence-related products and technologies.

Horizon Europe 2020

With a budget of €95.5 billion, Horizon Europe 2020 is the European Commission’s main framework programme for the period 2021-2027. Specifically, for the period 2021-2022, Horizon Europe funding amounts to EUR 14.7 billion.
On the one hand, one of its maxims is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and to encourage this process, around 5.8 billion euros will be allocated to innovation and research to support the European Green Pact. On the other hand, the digitisation of Europe will receive 4 billion euros in the period 2021-2022 with the aim of building a Digital Compass.

Underlying this name is a joint governance structure with Member States, based on a monitoring system with annual reporting in the form of traffic lights. Although the call has already closed, 5,208 projects from the 2021 exercise are still being implemented.

Erasmus+

Education and training, youth and sport are, once again, the focus of funding for the new Erasmus+, with an estimated budget of 28 billion euros for the period 2021-2027. The aim of this programme is to promote European cooperation in the field of cultural and linguistic diversity and, on the other hand, to increase the competitiveness of the cultural and creative sectors, especially the audiovisual sector.

This new programme is the most international of all because it allows cooperation with third countries (until now it was only reserved for Higher Education), extending it to the sectors of adult education, vocational training and school education.

Innovation Fund

This European programme focuses on companies bringing innovative low-carbon technologies to the market. With a budget of €10 billion, the Innovation Fund supports projects in energy-intensive industries (steel, paper, chemicals, cement, ceramics, etc.), as well as renewable energy, carbon capture and use or capture and storage projects.

It therefore proposes to subsidise real investment projects, with high innovative content and in some cases with very high investment values. It is not necessary to apply as a consortium, companies can apply individually and receive grants of up to 60% of the additional costs of their project. In 2021, the Innovation Fund opened a call for large-scale projects with a budget of €1.5 billion, which will be open until March 2022.

CEF Transport

This programme funds projects aimed at creating, modernising and improving Europe’s transport infrastructure. Broadly speaking, the programme covers actions on trans-European infrastructure networks in all modes of rail, maritime, inland waterway and road transport. In addition there are other calls that are structured in thematic sectors that pursue specific objectives to promote smart and interoperable mobility, sustainable and multimodal mobility, safe mobility, and, as a novelty in this edition, military mobility, i.e. the dual use of civil and military infrastructure.

Over the period 2021-2027, the CEF Transport programme will mobilise €25.8 billion in different actions. The amount of funding for each project varies depending on the thematic area. In general terms, financial support will not exceed 30% for works and investments, and 50% for studies. However, in exceptional cases, funding could be up to 70% or 85%.

Digital Europe

In November 2021, the first calls for proposals were launched for this programme, which aims to accelerate the recovery and boost the digital transformation of the European Union. Digital Europe focuses on five areas of action: cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, supercomputing, artificial intelligence and ensuring the widespread use of digital technologies in the economy and society.

Three work programmes are currently active and will receive €1.98 billion in funding, targeting companies, organisations and public administrations in EU Member States, as well as entities in Digital Europe partner countries.

The first call ends on 22 February 2022; until the end of that year, €415 million will be invested in infrastructures, data spaces, artificial intelligence, quantum communication infrastructures, fostering people’s digital skills and projects that promote a safer Internet, free of child sexual abuse and misinformation.