Draft FP10 links research funding more closely to EU competitiveness agenda
A draft of the European Commission’s proposal for the EU’s next research and innovation programme (FP10), included in the wider budget package, outlines major structural changes. The framework will be organised under four pillars:
Excellence in science
Competitiveness and society
Innovation
Strengthening the European Research Area
Most notably, Pillar 2—traditionally home to large-scale collaborative research—would now fall under a newly created “Competitiveness Coordination Tool.” This tool would tie FP10 more closely to the broader European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), raising fresh questions about the autonomy of research funding.
The document suggests that while FP10 will remain a self-standing programme in legal terms, it will be strategically aligned with EU industrial policy. The proposal includes space for a more open-ended, bottom-up approach within Pillars 1 and 2, which could be a positive development for underfunded areas like mental health and emerging therapeutic fields.
The draft also proposes strengthening the European Research Council and includes commitments to increase public engagement and reduce administrative burden.
The total budget proposed in the EC new multiannual financial framework is doubling Horizon Europe’s previous allocation to €175 billion.
