Research community given early Christmas present

Far more generous towards research than the Luxembourg Presidency’s proposal, the budget deal proposed by the UK Presidency and endorsed by the European Council promises a 75% increase in EU funding for research.

The long-term budget deal agreed by the European Council at the 15-16 December 2005 summit looks promising for research. The EU is set to increase EU funding for research by 75% in real terms by 2013 compared to 2006. 

In allocating funds under the heading ‘Competitiveness for growth and employment’ (1a), the summit conclusions state that “particular priority should be given to delivering a substantial and progressive enhancement of the EU’s research effort”.

The heads of state and government are also inviting the Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to increase their support for R&D through a specific risk-sharing financing facility, part of the FP7 proposal. This instrument is designed to boost private sector investment in research. The facility would go up to a maximum of 10 billion euro.

Read more with Euractiv

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