historic €1.8-trillion (US$2.1-trillion) budget deal reached by European Union leaders to fund the bloc’s next seven years — and its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — has left scientists and research advocates disappointed.
After a marathon five-day summit of the European Council, on which EU heads of state sit, leaders agreed to give €81 billion to the upcoming flagship research programme, Horizon Europe, which starts in January 2021. But this is barely an increase over the budget for the programme’s predecessor, and is almost €5 billion less than the European Commission — the EU’s executive branch — suggested when the recovery plan was proposed in May.
