(Science|Business) Don’t ignore basic research in next Horizon Europe, MEPs told

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Support for basic research is an essential part of building European competitiveness, according to witnesses appearing before the European Parliament’s industry and research committee on February 26.

“There’s the narrative that in a geopolitical world, we need to prioritise applied instruments and industrial policy,” said Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council (ERC), during the hearing. “We all know the pressures that Europe is under, but we should be careful not to create a false hierarchy between frontier research and innovation.”

As head of the EU’s main funding body for frontier research, Leptin might be expected to fight for her corner. But her view was echoed by others appearing before the MEPs.

Maira Indrikova, vice-rector for research and at Riga Technical University, said that a potential shift towards projects focused on high technology readiness levels (TRLs) could hinder the role of universities and higher education institutions, which currently receive the largest share of Horizon Europe funding.

“Industry typically focuses on products that are developed within five years [whereas] universities focus on long-term research,” she said. “Sometimes, it takes 10-40 years until we see our breakthrough technologies,” she added. “We need to balance the low TRLs together with the high TRLs [with regards to budget allocation].”

Speaking from industry, Mirjam Storim, head of strategy and technology relations at Siemens Foundational Technologies, said there should be a focus on industrial adoption through high TRLs. But “a clever mix” was most appropriate. “Seeing these different TRLs together in one bucket is a good start,” she said.

Meanwhile, former Portuguese science minister Manuel Heitor, who chaired the European Commission’s Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe, said it all comes down to the governance of funding allocation. 

The expert group’s report, published in 2024, said the Commission should apply lessons from the ERC and the European Innovation Council to launch two independent councils, one on industrial competitiveness and another one on societal challenges, which would set the funding agenda in Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe.

The recommendation was not picked up in the Commission’s proposal dated July 2025, but Heitor urged MEPs to make room for it in the ongoing debate. “It really needs to be a programme which is governed by scientists and innovators, for scientists and innovators,” he said.

Leptin said the ERC can offer guidance on how to set up such independent councils if that idea were to be put on the table again. 

Budget talks

Turning to the Horizon Europe budget, Leptin said the increase proposed by the Commission shows that researchers are being taken seriously in the competitiveness and security debate. But “what’s on the table should be seen as a minimum, not as a final ambition.”

Heitor agreed, renewing a call for a €220-billion budget, which he deemed “the minimum acceptable.”

This budget is crucial if the Commission wants to close the innovation gap with the US and China. According to 2024 estimates, China and the US spent $785.9 billion and $781.8 billion respectively on R&D, way ahead of the EU with $424 billion.

Since the US has fewer researchers than the EU, its expenditure per researcher is much higher. “In the EU, we spend roughly $229,000 per researcher and in the US, that is half a million,” Leptin said. “If we increase only modestly while others continue at that scale, the gap does not close, it will widen.”

She also reminded MEPs that proposed EU research budgets had historically been cut towards the end of negotiations. “Not if, but when that happens again, the signal will be clear: Europe speaks about sovereignty and competitiveness, but it hesitates when it comes to sustained investment,” she added.

Strategic areas

According to Storim, strategic resource allocation will be needed to make the next Horizon Europe as efficient as possible. This means the EU should strengthen spending on areas where it is strong and can lead, such as industrial artificial intelligence, digital twins and cloud-edge computing. 

She also wants to see the next Horizon Europe and the European Competitiveness Fund put an emphasis on digital and computing infrastructures. “I’m not calling for an Airbus for everything [but] a lot of companies do benefit from this installed base.”

Storim also backed the Commission’s ongoing simplification efforts to help reduce the time between submitting an application and receiving a grant, as well as more flexibility to adapt to shorter innovation cycles. “We test something, we prototype it, we learn, we change. And this is how innovation is happening now,” she said.

Social sciences and humanities

Asked about the fate of the social sciences and humanities in a potentially more industry-focused Horizon Europe, Leptin said that the ERC’s bottom-up approach was “the best protection” for all research areas, adding that more than a third of ERC funding was going to social science and humanities projects. 

“We need to understand societies, we need to understand the human mind, we need to understand migrants, we need to understand poverty etc.,” she added.

Storim joined her in highlighting the importance of linking the social sciences and humanities to technology at a time when the increasing use of AI, for example, is giving rise to ethical questions. “Just talking about technology is not enough. And there is a big role for social sciences and humanities,” she said. “I would really appreciate also seeing this link in granting public funding.”