The European Commission published the Synopsis Report on Horizon Europe, containing the results of the consultation. The report describes the constitution of the respondents – primarily academic/research institutions (48%), with the second and third largest respondent groups being companies/business organisations (17%) and EU citizens (13%) respectively. The majority of respondents were from Italy, France, Germany and Spain. The respondent countries illustrate the somewhat uneven distribution between Eastern- and Western-European countries, with regards to research policy – an issue addressed by initiatives, such as the “widening”.
With regards to research priorities, respondents expressed key thematic areas, most notably as “health”, “energy”, “climate”, “sustainability” and “digitalisation”. In addition, respondents clearly indicated that they expect climate change, and energy supply to be the the most significant challenge of the near future, as they marked these topics essential or high-priority, both with regards to the next 3 years and the next decade. Respondents also highlighted the interconnectedness of research topics, by highlighting potential synergies amongst many of the 6 topical “clusters”, and pillars/ initiatives within Horizon, as well as synergies with other EU programmes. Lastly, respondents called for streamlining Horizon Missions, and the Strategic Plan Structure, which they found challenging to understand. The response of EuChemS can be read here.
European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel made a contribution to Science/Business to address the horizon consultation, where she stated that she is pleased with the engagement with the consultation, thanked for the contributions and expressed her commitment to EU level research and innovation.
