We already know the first calls for Horizon Europe, launched by the ERC

4 March 2021

The European Research Council (ERC) received more than 16 billion euros to define the first Horizon Europe work program. This program was communicated on February 22, 2021.

The ERC budget for the period 2021-2027 will be 22% higher than in the last framework program, H2020, a total of 16,000 million euros. With this first call for applications it confirms what Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Research, Innovation, Culture, Education and Youth, already announced at the last Science|Business conference “A later than expected political agreement on the EU budget has affected the timing of the first Horizon Europe calls. However, the commitment of the European Commission, and the extraordinary dedication of the ERC Executive Agency staff, have allowed us to maintain the original planning of the evaluations, in particular for the 2021 Starting Grant call.”

Europe’s Framework Program for Research and Innovation : a budget of 1.9 billion euros

Europe’s new Research and Innovation Framework Program for 2021-2027 consists of three main calls for proposals for a total amount of €1.9 billion. EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said in this regard, “The first call will support young researchers across Europe starting their own independent research team or program. They are the future of European research.

The 1st call

The first call for grants, which starts on February 25 and ends on April 8, will support the best researchers to start their team or independent research program. The estimated budget is 619 million euros.

The 2nd call

It is what the ERC considers the “Consolidation Grants”, dedicated to researchers who consolidate their team or independent research program. It will be launched on March 11 and the closing date is April 20. The budget is 633 million euros.

The 3rd call

The “advanced grants”, with a budget of 626 million euros are aimed at leading advanced researchers. It will be launched on May 20 and the deadline is August 31.

Standards for non-EU countries

The Commission aims to reinforce and guarantee European values. This goal, reinforced after the COVID19 crisis, has been the trigger for the establishment of stricter rules for research cooperation with non-EU countries. Commissioner Gabriel pointed out four factors to ensure fair research cooperation:

The EU should support cooperation in areas where it is needed and where European values are least threatened.
Cooperation in research projects involving sensitive technologies should be limited.
The Commission plans to publish guidelines in 2021 to ensure that academics and researchers are better equipped to deal with foreign interference.

This tightening of rules ensures that innovative platforms, the bedrock of the EU economy, do not depend on decisions taken outside European territory.

About the European Research Council

The European Research Council (ERC) launches open calls to award grants to projects led by early-stage and established researchers. It is guided by a single criterion: scientific excellence, so its main objective is to attract the best researchers from all over the world to come and stay in Europe and form the basis of the new industries, markets and social innovations of the future.

Figures about ERC:

The ERC represents 17% of the overall Horizon Europe budget,
Since 2007, more than 11,000 projects and over 9,500 researchers have been selected for funding
ERC grantees have won prestigious prizes, including 7 Nobel Prizes, 4 Fields Medals, 9 Wolf Prizes and more
Over 150,000 articles published in scientific journals were reported so far
Over 6,100 articles are among the top 1% highly cited according to Scopus data 2018
More than 70-80%of projects assessed by an independent study made scientific breakthroughs or major advances, whilst about 25% of them made contributions that are incremental (latest study).