REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Report on Research and Technological Development Activities of the European Union and Monitoring of Horizon 2020 in 2018
Date: 2019-07-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Subjects: EAEC, EU activity, EU research policy, European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Framework Programme for Research and Development, Joint Research Centre, activity report, innovation, research and development, technological change

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.7.2019  COM(2019) 315 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Annual Report on Research and Technological Development Activities of the European Union and Monitoring of Horizon 2020 in 2018  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE 
COUNCIL 

EU research and technological development activities and monitoring of Horizon 2020 in 
2018 

1. 

BACKGROUND  

This  annual  report  on  the  EU’s  research  and  technological  development  activities  and  the 
dissemination  of  results  has  been  prepared  pursuant  to  Article  190  of  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning of the European Union and Article 7 of the Euratom Treaty. It provides a concise, 
non-exhaustive overview of key measures taken in 2018. 

2. 

POLITICAL CONTEXT  

The Communication on A renewed European agenda for research and innovation – Europe’s 
chance to shape its future1, which the Commission prepared for the informal European Council 
in Sofia on 16 May 2018, placed research and innovation (R&I) at the heart of agenda for jobs, 
growth,  fairness  and  democratic  change,  and  of  preparations  for  the  future  of  the  EU.  Against 
that backdrop, the Commission adopted legislative proposals for spending programmes under the 
2021-2027 EU budget, which are now the subject of inter-institutional negotiations. 

In  2018,  the  EU  economy  continued  to  expand  for  the  fifth  year  in  a  row,  but  global 
uncertainties  are  looming.  Macroeconomic  indicators  such  as  employment  and  investment 
returned to pre-financial crisis trends2, but sluggish productivity improvements continue to hold 
back  economic  growth3.  By  November,  the  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  had 
supported  projects  in  all  Member  States  for  a  total  investment  value  of  €360 billion,  of  which 
two  thirds  are  from  private  resources4.  Horizon 2020  has  contributed  directly  to  these  positive 
developments, creating around 592,000 new jobs between 2014 and 20185. 

The  EU  kept  issues  relating  to  the  digital  single  market  high  on  the  agenda.  Apart  from 
ensuring  the  protection  of  personal  data,  the  new  General  Data  Protection  Regulation  (which 
entered  into  force  on  25  May  20186)  will  also  support  R&I.  The  Commission  supported  the 
mutualisation  of  national  efforts  in  artificial  intelligence7.  Again,  Horizon 2020  played  a  key 
role,  in  particular  by  supporting  the  creation  of  a  new  joint  undertaking  on  high-performance 
computing that should ensure Europe’s strategic autonomy in this field8.  

1   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/com-2018-306-a-renewed-european-agenda-_for_research-and-

innovation_may_2018_en_0.pdf 

2   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/file_import/2019-european-semester-annual-growth-survey_en_1.pdf 
3   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/rec-17-015-srip-report2018_mep-web-20180228.pdf 
4   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-

political/files/communication_investment_plan_for_europe_nov2018.pdf 

5   https://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/h2020_evaluations/swd(2017)220-in-depth-

interim_evaluation-h2020.pdf 

6   https://eur-lex.europa.eu/content/news/general-data-protection-regulation-GDPR-applies-from-25-May-

2018.html 

7   https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/eu-member-states-sign-cooperate-artificial-intelligence. 
8   https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/eurohpc-joint-undertaking 

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Energy  and  climate  remained  at  the  top  of  the  global  and  European  agenda.  A  special 
Intergovernmental  Panel  on  Climate  Change  (IPCC)  report  to  policy-makers  highlighted 
dramatically  the  urgency  of  addressing  climate  change9.  The  Commission  continued  to 
implement the EU’s energy and climate commitments in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement on 
Climate Change and the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs)10. Therefore, the 
Commission  implemented  the  legislation  necessary  to  reach  the  EU’s  nationally  determined 
contribution  to  reduce  greenhouse  gas  emissions  by  40%  by  2030  (compared  to  1990). 
Furthermore,  the  European  Commission  presented  in  November  2018  its  vision    for  achieving 
net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 205011. The long-term strategy outlines the technological, 
economic  and  societal  transformations  required  to  achieve  climate  neutrality,  and  ensuring  a 
socially fair transition This level of commitment should underpin the EU’s global leadership in 
this area, consistent with the influential role advocated by President Juncker in his 2018 ‘state of 
the Union’ address. 

3. 

POLICY FRAMEWORK 

Horizon Europe 

On  7  June,  the  Commission  adopted  its  proposals  for  Horizon  Europe,  the  R&I  policy 
framework  for  2021-2027  (the  period  of  the  next  multiannual  financial  framework).  The 
legislative package consists of proposals for:  

  a Regulation establishing Horizon Europe and laying down the rules for participation;  

  a Decision for a specific programme implementing Horizon Europe; and  

  a Regulation  establishing the research and training programme of the European Atomic 

Energy Community (Euratom) for 2021-2025. 

The package seeks to simplify the rules further, while ensuring continuity, e.g. the key principles 
of EU R&I framework programmes (excellence, impact and openness) will continue to apply. It 
was drawn up on the basis of extensive consultations with stakeholders and public figures, and 
other important input, such as LAB FAB APP – Investing in the European future we want12, the 
report from the independent high-level group on maximising the impact of EU R&I programmes 
(chaired by Pascal Lamy). 

By the end of 2018, the Competitiveness Council had agreed a partial general approach on the 
main  Regulation13  and  the  European  Parliament14  had  endorsed  in  plenary  a  report  on  the 
package from its Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee. 

The Commission’s proposals are structured around three pillars:  

9   https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2018/07/SR15_SPM_High_Res.pdf 
10   https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/clima/files/docs/pages/com_2018_733_en.pdf 
11 https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/clima/files/docs/pages/com_2018_733_en.pdf 
12   https://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/other_reports_studies_and_documents/hlg_2017_report.pdf 
13   https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/37219/st14406-en18.pdf 
14   http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2018-

0509+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN 

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  open science;  

  global challenges and industrial competitiveness; and  

  open innovation.  

There will be an additional part on strengthening the European Research Area (ERA). 

Reflecting  the  importance  of  tackling  climate  change  in  line  with  the  Union's  commitments  to 
implement  the  Paris  Agreement  and  the  SDGs,  Horizon  Europe  has  a  climate  mainstreaming 
target of at least 35% of the overall financial envelope. 

As  regards  the  openness  of  programming,  a  strategic  planning  process  has  been  proposed, 
which  will  provide  multiannual  strategic  orientationsbased  on  a  co-design  approach  with 
Member States and stakeholders. This inclusive process will also favour synergy with other EU 
programmes and policies, and ongoing dialogue with civil society. 

The second pillar (‘global challenges and industrial competitiveness’) will involve the launch of 
a  limited  number  of  ‘missions’  co-designed  with  end-users  and  based  on  a  cross-sectoral, 
cross-disciplinary  pattern  and  clear  objectives  from  inception.  Inspired  by  the  report  Missions: 
Mission-oriented  research  &  innovation  in  the  European  Union15,  the  mission  approach  will 
accentuate the directionality of R&I policy. 

Under  the  third  pillar  (‘open  innovation’),  two  complementary  instruments  will  be  used  to 
channel  European  Innovation  Council  (EIC)  support  for  breakthrough  and  market-creating 
innovations  along  the  continuum  from  R&I  to  market  deployment  and  the  scaling-up  of 
companies: 

 

 

the pathfinder for advanced research will support research conducive to transformational 
change and potential market_creating innovations; and  

the  accelerator  will  provide  tailor-made  blended  finance  in  support  of  market-creating 
innovation and the scaling-up of innovative companies. 

European Semester 

As part of the European Semester economic policy cycle, the Commission issued reports on each 
Member State16. A total of thirteen Member States received  country-specific recommendations 
highlighting  challenges  related  to  the  quality  and  efficiency  of  national  R&I  systems,  with  a 
focus on: 

  achieving  higher  scientific  quality,  a  stronger  science  base  and  more  impact  through 

public R&I investments; 

improving science-business links; and  

removing bottlenecks that affect the business environment and innovation investments. 

 

 

Open innovation 

15   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/mazzucato_report_2018.pdf 
16   https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/2018-european-semester-country-reports_en 

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The  first  phase  of  an  EIC  pilot  (see  section  4.2)  saw  support  given  to  a  significant  number  of 
innovators, with 1,276 projects funded for a total of €731.15 million by the end of the year17.  

The Commission took steps to ensure that European innovative businesses had better access to 
finance,  which  is  a  driver  of  productivity18.  It  launched  VentureEU19,  a  pan-European  venture 
capital fund of funds programme that aims to double the amount of venture capital available in 
Europe. 

The 2018 edition of Science research and innovation performance of the EU20 stressed that the 
EU’s  economic  prosperity  and  social  model  depend  on  its  ability  to  create  and  disseminate 
innovation.  The  EU  needs  to  embrace  emerging  innovations  and  technologies  to  overcome  a 
severe productivity problem and sustain economic growth. 

Open science 

The  Commission  established  governance  arrangements  for  the  European  Science  Cloud 
(EOSC),  which  seeks  to  tap  the  potential  of  EU  R&I  by  linking  ‘people,  data,  services  and 
training,  publications  […]  across  borders  and  scientific  disciplines’21.  It  convened  the  first 
meeting  of  the  EOSC  board,  composed  of  Member  State  and  associated  countries’ 
representatives.   

In  the  light  of  technological  and  institutional  developments,  the  Commission  updated  its 
Recommendation on access to and the preservation of scientific information22.  

In order to  speed up the transition  to  open access, it worked with  national  funding  agencies to 
support the implementation of Plan S23.  

Open to the world 

International cooperation in R&I has enhanced the EU’s influence as a global actor, in a context 
in which growing attention is being paid to science diplomacy. 

Horizon  2020  continued  to  support  operational  and  scientific  work  by  the  Intergovernmental 
Science-Policy  Platform  on  Biodiversity  and  Ecosystem  Services  (IPBES)  and 
the 
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Dedicated Horizon 2020 calls support the 

17   https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/eic-pilot-eu1734-million-top-class-innovators-bring-their-innovations-faster-

market-2018-dec-20_en 

18   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0635b07f-07bb-11e7-8a35-

01aa75ed71a1/language-en 

19   http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-2763_en.htm 
20   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/rec-17-015-srip-report2018_mep-web-20180228.pdf 
21   https://publications.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-and-publications/publication-detail/-/publication/5253a1af-ee10-

11e8-b690-01aa75ed71a1 

22   https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018H0790&from=EN 
23   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/commissioners/2014-2019/moedas/announcements/plan-s-and-coalition-s-

accelerating-transition-full-and-immediate-open-access-scientific_en 

4 

 
 
                                                           
creation  of  additional  scientific  knowledge24  as  well  as  the  functioning  of  these  bodies,  thus 
promoting multilateralism. 

Together  with  Germany  and  Finland,  the  Commission  co-organised  the  second  Arctic  science 
ministerial25, which culminated in the adoption of a joint statement by the EU, 23 countries and 
six indigenous people’s organisations26.  

In  line  with  the  EU’s  longstanding  commitment  to  Atlantic  Ocean  R&I  cooperation,  the 
Commission  signed  cooperation  agreements  with  Argentina  and  Cape  Verde  to  strengthen  and 
enhance  R&I  cooperation  on  ‘blue  growth’  and  tackle  the  challenges  linked  to  the  Atlantic, 
including ocean observation, food security, polar research and climate variability. 

Other policy measures 

The Commission published two milestone Communications on global R&I-related challenges: 

  A  sustainable  bioeconomy  for  Europe:  strengthening  the  connection  between  economy, 
society and the environment27 updated the EU’s bioeconomy strategy. R&I will continue 
to play a key role across three sets of actions to be launched from 2019:  

o  strengthening and scaling up the bio-based sectors;  

o  deploying local bioeconomies across Europe; and  

o  understanding the ecological boundaries of the bioeconomy; and 

  A clean planet for all: a European strategic long term vision for a prosperous, modern, 
competitive and climate neutral economy28 sets out how the EU has started to implement 
the  transformation  needed  to  achieve  a  climate-neutral  economy  and  outlines  seven 
concrete successful pathways. It also highlights the importance of harnessing finance and 
R&I  deployment  to  support  the  wide  range  of  activities  needed  to  make  the 
climate-neutral economy a reality.  

Work  continued  to  implement  the  20  policy  measures  set  out  in  the  Communication  on 
Accelerating  clean  energy  innovation29,  which  contribute  through  R&I  to  achieving  the 
objectives of the Energy Union. 

The  high-level  strategy  group  on  industrial  technologies  published  its  policy  approach  to  key 
enabling  technologies  (KETs)30,  validating  the  six  KETs  identified  in  2009  and  suggesting  the 
inclusion of two new KETs:  

  artificial intelligence; and  

  digital security and connectivity.  

24   https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/lc-cla-01-2018. 
25   https://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=events&eventcode=187D5765-E38F-9AFC-958DA987ECDD0613. 
26   https://www.arcticscienceministerial.org/files/ASM2_Joint_Statement.pdf 
27   https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/pdf/ec_bioeconomy_strategy_2018.pdf 
28   https://ec.europa.eu/clima/sites/clima/files/docs/pages/com_2018_733_en.pdf 
29   https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/1_en_act_part1_v6_0.pdf 
30   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/28e1c485-476a-11e8-be1d-01aa75ed71a1 

5 

 
 
                                                           
The Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA  – the successor group to the Scientific Advice 
Mechanism  High-Level  Group  (SAM  HLG)31)  delivered  an  important  scientific  opinion  on 
Novel carbon capture and utilisation technologies32 and issued guidance on sensitive regulatory 
challenges, such as gene-editing33. It also interacted directly with the general public.  

Other  high-level  initiatives  addressing  important  cross-cutting  policy  priorities  included  the 
European Battery34 and the Communications On the road to automated mobility: an EU strategy 
for mobility of the future35 and Endocrine disruptors36. Research aspects are particularly relevant 
to the implementation of the proposed strategies. 

4. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF HORIZON 2020 

4.1   Response to calls 

By  the  end  of  201837,  a  total  of  679  Horizon  2020  call  deadlines  had  passed,  with  191,731 
eligible  proposals  submitted,  requesting  a  total  EU  financial  contribution  of  €290.3 billion.  Of 
those  proposals,  23,250  were  selected  for  funding,  bringing  the  overall  success  rate  of  eligible 
proposals in the first five years to 12.13%. A total of 21,599 grant agreements had been signed 
by the end of December, with a budget allocation of €38.97 billion in EU funding. 

In  2014-2018,  participants  in  EU  Member  States  received  91.5%  of  the  funding,  with  the  rest 
going  to  those  from  associated  countries  (7.2%)  and  non-EU  countries  (1.3%).  While  the 
participation  share  of  associated  countries  (7.2%)  is  in  line  with  the  funding  received,  that  of 
non-EU countries is significantly higher (3.9%), indicating an interest in international openness, 
decoupled from funding. 

Higher education organisations (HES) remain in first place in terms of funding received (39.8%), 
while 25.9% of EU funding under pillars 2 and 3 goes to SMEs. 

4.2   Key features of Horizon 2020 

EIC pilot first phase 

The  High-Level  Group  of  Innovators  (HLGI),  which  was  appointed  to  help  Commissioner 
Moedas  set  up  the  EIC,  issued  a  report,  Funding-Awareness-Scale-Talent  (FAST)38,  which 
highlighted pathways to improve support for market-creating innovation in the EU. On the basis 

31   https://ec.europa.eu/research/sam/pdf/c_2018_1919_ec_decision_consolidated.pdf 
32   https://ec.europa.eu/research/sam/pdf/sam_ccu_report.pdf 
33   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/2018_11_gcsa_statement_gene_editing_1.pdf 
34 https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/policy/european-battery-alliance_en 
35   https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/3rd-mobility-pack/com20180283_en.pdf 
36 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/news/endocrine-disruptors-strategy-and-european-citizens-initiative-2018-
nov-07_en 
37   Situation as of 11 February 2019 (extraction from Horizon 2020 dashboard). 
38   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/eic_hlg_bz_web.pdf 

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of the report and earlier  policy steps from  the College of Commissioners39, a pilot  for the EIC 
was included in the 2018-2020 work programme. 

In  line  with  the  HLGI’s  recommendations40,  the  pilot  incorporates  all  relevant  Horizon 2020 
innovation  financing  in  a  single  scheme  encompassing  the  SME  instrument,  the  Fast  Track  to 
Innovation, FET Open and the Horizon prizes.  

This part of the work programme should support up to 1,000 projects, with an overall budget of 
€2.7 billion. Its impact will be assessed against the following indicators:  

  new markets developed; 

  private investment attracted; and 

  growth of the businesses supported. 

The European Council  of June 2018 asked the Commission to develop  a second phase of the 
initiative41,  which  would  be  aimed  at  developing  blended  finance  solutions  and  experimenting 
with new arrangements for programme management. 

International cooperation 

Scientific  cooperation  continues  to  be  a  key  pillar  of  the  EU’s  international  relations.  The 
Commission  updated  R&I  roadmaps  with  key  partners,  at  both  country  and  regional  levels. 
These  combine  policy  dialogue  with  cooperation  at  project  level,  mainstreamed  in  the 
Horizon 2020 work programme activities.  

In  particular,  the  Commission  updated  the  science  and  technology  roadmaps  for  cooperation 
with: 

  at  country  (bilateral)  level42  –  Australia,  Brazil,  Canada,  China,  India,  Japan,  South 

Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa and the United States; and 

  at  regional  level43–  the  African  Union,  south-east  Asia,  the  Eastern  Partnership,  the 
Community of Latin America and Caribbean States, the Mediterranean and Middle East, 
and the Western Balkans.   

At  project  level,  activities  under  the  Marie  Skłodowska-Curie  Actions  continue  to  account  for 
more than half of all third-country participations in Horizon 2020. 

Widening participation 

The  Commission  published  an  extensive  assessment  of  the  participation  patterns  and  R&I 
performance  of  eligible  countries  in  Spreading  excellence  &  widening  participation  in 

39   https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2016:733:FIN 
40   http://ec.europa.eu/research/eic/pdf/eic_recommendations_set-1_2017.pdf 
41   https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/06/29/20180628-euco-conclusions-final/ 
42   http://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/index.cfm?pg=countries 
43   http://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/index.cfm?pg=regions 

7 

 
 
                                                           
Horizon 202044.  Overall,  the  widening  of  countries’  participation  is  in  line  with  their  national 
R&I investment. 

A total of 44 grants were signed to implement ‘spreading excellence’ projects, for an amount of 
€62.38  million.  Of  these,  13  will  help  to  establish  ERA  chairs  in  Czechia,  Cyprus,  Estonia, 
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

nationality 

 A new pilot  action– Widening  fellowships  – was  introduced in  2018, modelled on the MSCA 
Individual Fellowships. They will provide additional opportunities to around 120 researchers of 
any 
The Policy Support Facility also provided support for policy reforms in ‘widening’ countries, 
e.g. a  peer  review  of  Estonia’s  R&I  system45  in  view  of  its  planned  R&I  and  entrepreneurship 
strategy for 2021-2027. 

fellowship 

undertake 

widening 

to 

in 

a 

a 

country.                                                     

The  Forward  project  was  launched  as  part  of  the  new  EU  strategy  for  the  outermost  regions. 
Teaming institutions and stakeholders from the Azores, the Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, French 
Guiana, La Réunion, Madeira, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint Martin, the project will involve an 
initial analysis of R&I ecosystems and develop a common strategy and thematic action plans. 

Social science and the humanities (SSH) 

A total of 136 topics across the ‘industrial leadership’ and ‘societal challenges’ pillars explicitly 
required SSH contributions.  

The third monitoring report on the integration of SSH in Horizon 202046 found that 32% of the 
projects financed under SSH-flagged topics are coordinated by an SSH partner. While economics 
and sociology are well represented, there is still a need to improve the integration of other SSH 
disciplines such as law, history and anthropology. 

Gender 

Various forms of support contributed to positive trends in this area47; for example: 

  national  contact  points  networks48  organised  specific  training  events  on  the  gender 

dimension; and 

 

the  Helsinki  Group  released  Guidance 

the  Commission  and 
the 
implementation  of  targets  to  promote  gender  equality  in  research  and  innovation49, 
which covered the designing of frameworks conducive to introducing gender quotas for 
decision-makers. 

facilitate 

to 

44   https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/news/widening-participation-horizon-2020-report-analysis-fp-

participation-patterns-and-ri 

45   https://rio.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/library/peer-review-estonian-research-and-innovation-system-factsheet 
46   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/4365f75a-5efe-11e8-ab9c-

01aa75ed71a1/language-en 

47   https://ec.europa.eu/research/swafs/pdf/pub_gender_equality/interim_evaluation_gender_long_final.pdf 
48   http://www.ncpacademy.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/20180222_Gender-Equality-in-H2020.pdf 
49   http://ec.europa.eu/research/swafs/pdf/pub_gender_equality/KI-07-17-199-EN-N.pdf 

8 

 
 
                                                           
Climate action and sustainable development 

The Horizon 2020 Regulation50 set the expected budget share for climate action and sustainable 
development  over  the  duration  of  the  programme  at  35%  and  60%  respectively.  Up  to  and 
including  2018,  expenditure  had  reached  at  least  30%  for  the  former51  and  69%  for  the  latter. 
Additional efforts are ongoing, in particular through the dedicated focus areas. 

Synergies with other programmes 

A  report  was  published  on  the  mutual  learning  exercise  on  widening  participation  and 
ensuring  synergies  between  the  EU’s  R&I  programmes  and  cohesion  policy52,  in  which  12 
Member  States  and  one  associated  country  had  participated.  It  found  that,  while  there  may  be 
regulatory bottlenecks at project level, effective synergies will depend on the capacity to promote 
policy dialogue at programme level. 

European  Court  of  Auditors  special  report  28/201853  made  the  case  for  promoting  further 
communication on the  seal  of excellence  (SoE). To date, 35 different  SoE schemes have been 
designed  by  European  Structural  and  Investment  Fund  managing  authorities  in  15  Member 
States. 

5. 

EURATOM 

Council Regulation  (Euratom) 2018/156354 established the framework of the Euratom research 
and training programme for 2019-2020. 

Indirect actions 

By  the  end  of  2018,  three  calls  had  been  concluded,  with  136  eligible  proposals  submitted, 
requesting  a  total  Euratom  financial  contribution  of  €500.8 million.  Of  these,  47  were  selected 
for funding, with a Euratom contribution of €196.9 million, bringing the overall success rate of 
eligible full proposals since 2014 to 34.56%. 

Direct actions implemented by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) 

The direct actions of the programme, implemented by the JRC covered research and training on 
the following areas: 

• 
management, environmental monitoring and emergency preparedness and response;  

nuclear  safety,  including  safety  of  reactor,  fuel  and  fuel  cycle,  nuclear  waste 

50   See in particular recital 10; 

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/legal_basis/fp/h2020-eu-establact_en.pdf  

51 Thid does not include expenditure outside of the specific objectives, such as administrative expenditure.  
52   https://rio.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/policy-support-facility/mle-national-practices-widening-participation-and-

strengthening-synergies 

53   https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=47542 
54  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1558436373644&uri=CELEX:32018R1563 

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• 
trafficking and nuclear forensics.  

nuclear  safeguards  non-proliferation  and  security,  including  combatting  illicit 

• 
basic  science  knowledge  and  standards  and  reference  materials  essential  for 
nuclear safety, security and safeguards, including research on non-energy applications of nuclear 
science as medical and space applications. 

in  nuclear  safety  and 
The  research  conducted  and  experience  gained, 
non-proliferation  foster  the  necessary  capacities  for  knowledge  management  and  to  provide 
education and advanced training in nuclear fields. This allows the JRC to meet the demand for 
scientific and technical support on EU-related policies. 

in  particular 

Research and training programme 

Support  from  the  research  and  training  programme  led  to  the  publication  of  more  than  800 
articles  in  peer-reviewed,  high-impact  journals  and  over  800  PhDs  in  fusion  physics  and 
technology. Over 900 researchers were provided with access to research infrastructures. 

6.  

JRC NON-NUCLEAR DIRECT ACTIONS 

Last  year  was  a  breakthrough  year  for  the  JRC’s  knowledge  management  activities,  with  the 
launch of four knowledge centres, bringing their number to 6: 

 

in  response to  consumer concerns, the Knowledge Centre on  Food Fraud and  Quality55 
provides access to up-to-date scientific knowledge on food fraud and food quality issues; 

 

  by making the latest innovative solutions and research insights available, the Knowledge 
Centre  on  Global  Food  and  Nutrition  Security56  aims  to  improve  action  to  reduce  food 
insecurity and malnutrition in food-insecure countries; 
the  Competence  Centre  on  Technology  Transfer57  is  a  primary  platform  for  policy 
support  and  capacity-building  in  technology  transfer  at  the  EU,  national,  regional  and 
local levels; and 
the Competence Centre on Foresight58 provides direct strategic and future-oriented input 
into EU policy-making. 

 

Other key achievements concerned: 

  vehicle emissions – the JRC prepared to take on the role of checking (on behalf of the 
Commission) vehicles’ compliance with the ‘real drive emissions’ requirements; and  

  SDGs – the JRC contributed to the Commission’s reflection paper A sustainable Europe 

by 203059, in particular through a qualitative foresight analysis. 

55   https://ec.europa.eu/knowledge4policy/food-fraud_en 
56   https://ec.europa.eu/knowledge4policy/global-food-nutrition-security_en 
57   https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/event/conference/technology-transfer-competence-centre 
58   https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/communities/en/community/jrc-alumni-network/article/ec-competence-centre-foresight 
59   https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/reflection-paper-towards-sustainable-europe-2030_en 

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7.   EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (EIT) 

In the course of 2018, the EIT continued to provide financial support to the six existing KICs60. 
In addition, the EIT funded activities aiming at  fostering the collaboration among KICs (cross-
KIC  activities)  on  key  aspects  of  KICs’  operations  in  order  to  increase  their  impacts  on  e.g. 
human  capital  and  skills  development,  communication  and  outreach.  The  total  EIT  financial 
contribution for the implementation of KICs’ Business Plans 2018 amounted to € 400M million.. 

At the beginning of the year, Forbes Magazine announced its 30 under 30 list for 2018, which 
included nine EIT Community-supported entrepreneurs61. 

In  2018,  the  EIT  launched  two  calls  for  the  creation  of  two  new  Knowledge  and  Innovation 
Communities (KICs) forresulting in a total of eight Innovation Communities:   

  urban mobility – with a consortium of 48 members, EIT Urban Mobility is dedicated to 
accelerating  solutions  that  improve  the  collective  use  of  urban  spaces,  while  ensuring 
sustainable and accessible multimodal mobility; and  

  manufacturing  –  with  a  consortium  of  50  partners,  EIT  Manufacturing’s  mission  is  to 
bring  European  manufacturing  actors  together  in  innovation  ecosystems  to  support 
sustainable and competitive manufacturing. 

8.   DISSEMINATION, EXPLOITATION AND COMMUNICATION 

The Commission opened a new corporate funding and tender opportunities portal62. This is 
now the single entry point for finding and managing EU grants and procurement contracts; it will 
cover all centrally managed programmes by the start of the next multiannual period in 2021. 

The  Horizon  2020  dashboard63  operated  successfully,  offering  powerful  new  analytical 
functions 
impact  analysis  and  feedback  for 
policy-making. 

inform  programme  reporting, 

that  will 

The CORDIS website64 was redesigned to improve user experience and strengthen its mission as 
the European Commission's primary public service to disseminate information on the results of 
all EU-funded research projects, through its transparent and open data repository of EU projects 
from  FP1  to  Horizon  2020  and  multilingual  articles  and  publications  that  help  to  foster 
exploitation and innovation. 

Building on the success of open access and open data schemes, the Commission contributed to 
Turning  FAIR  into  reality65,  the  final  report  from  its  expert  group  on  findable,  accessible, 
interoperable and reusable (FAIR) data, which also sets out an action plan to exploit the potential 
of data-driven R&I. 

60 EIT InnoEnergy, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT Digital, EIT RawMaterials, EIT Health, EIT Food.  
61 https://www.forbes.com/consent/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2018/ 
62 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home 
63 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/horizon-dashboard 
64 https://cordis.europa.eu 
65   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/turning_fair_into_reality_1.pdf 

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As  of  January  2019,  the  open  access  clause  of  the  Horizon  2020  model  grant  agreement 
ensures the full availability of the 54,635 scientific publications generated through the currently 
ongoing Horizon 2020 projects. 

9.   OUTLOOK   

In  2019,  the  inter-institutional  negotiations  on  Horizon  Europe  will  continue.  If  political 
agreement can be reached with the European Parliament and the Council on substantial elements 
of the legislative package, it will be possible to start co-designing the programme activities and 
implement  them  on  time.  This  will  ensure  the  continuity  of  EU  support  and  effective 
directionality, based on ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders.  

Substantial effort will go into formulating an overall EU policy to promote more and better R&I 
in Europe that supports sustainable development and delivers on the EU’s strategic objectives, in 
particular by designing an overarching strategy and framework for investing the EU’s resources, 
driving reforms and improving regulatory framework conditions. 

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