HRK warns against plans to cut the EU budget for research and development
English translation of the HRK press release dated 18 June 2026
Today, EU heads of state and government are beginning their deliberations in Brussels on the European Union’s next financial framework for the years 2028 to 2034. The current draft allocates fewer funds to research and innovation than the European Parliament and the European Commission have proposed to date. At the same time, the European Commission is already planning significant cuts to the Horizon Europe funding programme for the 2027 budget.
Commenting on this, the President of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), Prof Dr Walter Rosenthal, said today in Berlin:
“Europe faces the challenge of strengthening its capacity for innovation, competitiveness, technological sovereignty and societal resilience in an environment increasingly characterised by geopolitical tensions. Joint European investment in research and development is key to this.
It therefore sends the wrong signal when the European Commission allocates less funding to Horizon Europe in its draft budget for 2027 than in the previous year. And it is extremely problematic that the current Cyprus Presidency of the European Council is proposing a mere €148.6 billion for research and development funding under the next EU financial framework, which is due to come into effect in 2028. As a result, the EU Council of national governments is likely to fall well short of the €175 billion deemed necessary by the European Commission as recently as April, or the European Parliament’s call for €200 billion.
Particularly at a time when budgetary resources are becoming increasingly scarce overall, European cooperation in research and innovation must be a priority. No single Member State can, on its own, deliver the scientific breakthroughs and technological capabilities that Europe needs for competitiveness, security and societal resilience.
I call on the German federal government and the Members of the European Parliament to make a strong case, in the forthcoming budget negotiations, for reversing this trend and for significantly increasing European investment in research and development.”
Weitere Informationen:
https://www.hrk.de
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