The European Union is to focus billions of euros of research funding on tackling the continent¡¯s political priorities, such as cybersecurity and digitising industry.

Setting out how the final €30 billion (?26.6 billion) of Horizon 2020 funding will be spent, Carlos Moedas, commissioner for research, science and innovation, said: ¡°We are aligning the programme with the priorities of president Juncker [Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission].¡±

¡°One of the things we did differently this time is give direction to the scientists,¡± he told a press conference in Brussels.

This means that the final three years of Horizon 2020, the EU¡¯s research and innovation framework programme, will focus on ¡°fewer topics with bigger budgets¡±, according to a statement from the commission.

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Some €3.3 billion is earmarked for research on a ¡°low-carbon, climate resilient future¡±. ¡°Digitising and transforming European industry and services¡±, an area that Mr Moedas called a ¡°missing link¡± for Europe, will be backed by €1.7 billion. A further €941 million will go towards the ¡°circular economy¡± ¨C an attempt to reduce waste and increase recycling ¨C and €1 billion will be spent on research that bolsters the EU¡¯s security, focusing on areas such as cybersecurity.

In addition, €200 million will also go towards researching the causes and patterns of migration.

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As expected, Mr Moedas also confirmed €2.7 billion for a pilot European Innovation Council (EIC), a body to help stimulate ¡°innovation that creates markets that didn¡¯t exist before, so you create new jobs¡±. Some academics are wary of the commission¡¯s shift towards supporting innovation, fearing that it could hurt funding for basic research.

Horizon 2020 already contains funding streams to promote innovation ¨C helping small and medium-sized companies get new ideas off the ground, for example ¨C and the EIC is partly an attempt to consolidate lots of different pots of money under one name. ¡°We need one brand, and one brand only, in Europe,¡± Mr Moedas said.

But it will also focus more on funding ¡°bottom-up¡± ideas, and innovators themselves, rather than specific ideas, he said. Applicants seeking support will be interviewed to see if they are a ¡°real innovator¡±,?Mr Moedas explained.

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In addition, €460 million will also be allocated to researchers in countries ¡°that do not yet participate in the programme to their full potential. The aim is to tap into the unexploited pockets of excellence in Europe and beyond,¡± according to a commission statement. This is likely in response to one persistent criticism of EU research funding: that it disproportionately goes to academics in countries with already excellent research systems, leaving countries in Eastern Europe bereft of grants.

The commission will also trial giving researchers a ¡°lump sum¡± to conduct their work, in the hope that this will cut down on financial bureaucracy during projects. It will do away with ¡°all obligations on cost reporting and financial ex post audits¡±, according to the commission, moving from a ¡°control-based system¡± to a ¡°trust-based system¡±.

david.matthews@timeshighereducation.com