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 2019
Date: 2020-07-15
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, innovation, research and development, scientific cooperation, technological change

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 15.7.2020  COM(2020) 316 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 2019  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

EU research and technological development activities and monitoring of Horizon 2020 
in 2019 

1. 

Background  

This report was prepared under Article 190 TFEU and Article 7 of the Euratom Treaty, Article 31 of 
the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, and Article 21 of the Euratom Programme complementing 
Horizon 2020. It provides a concise, non-exhaustive overview of key measures taken in 2019. Since 
2017, the report refers to the Horizon 2020 Dashboard for further detailed monitoring data.  

2. 

Political context  

In June 2019, the European Council adopted A new strategic agenda for the EU 2019-2024, setting 
out  priority  areas  to  steer  the  European  Council’s  work  and  guide  other  EU  institutions’  work 
programmes. 

Research and innovation (R&I) play a key role in the six  political guidelines of the von Der Leyen 
Commission, as an evidence base for policy decisions and implementation, and as a means to achieve 
the goals. In particular, the ‘European Green Deal’ (Commission communication adopted December 
2019)  aims  to  make  Europe  the  world’s  first  climate-neutral  continent  by  2050.  The  priorities  ‘A 
Europe fit for the digital age’ and ‘An economy that works for people’ have strong implications for 
disruptive  research  and  breakthrough  innovation  and  the  European  Innovation  Council  (EIC)  in 
particular. R&I will also be important for ‘Promoting our European way of life’, ‘A stronger Europe 
in the world’ and ‘A new push for European democracy’.  

3. 

R&I policy framework 

3.1 Horizon Europe 

In March/April 2019, Parliament and the Council reached political agreement on important aspects of 
the  draft  legislation  on  the  Horizon  Europe  Framework  Programme/Rules  for  participation  and 
dissemination  and  the  Specific  Programme  (both  under  the  TFEU),  confirming  the  new  features 
introduced in the Commission proposals. On this basis, Commission launched strategic planning for 
Horizon Europe’s first Strategic Plan. 

Strategic planning  

Complementing intensive internal co-creation, the Commission commenced a broad and inclusive co-
design exercise with Parliament, the Member States, stakeholders and the public. This included events 
such as the first European Research and Innovation Days in September 2019 (‘R&I Days 2019’) 
and resulted in the ‘Orientations towards the first Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe’. This document 
covers  the  results  of  the  co-design  phase  and  includes  possible  impacts  to  be  targeted  in  the  first 
Strategic Plan. At the same time, a comprehensive co-design exercise, including a web-based survey 
(see  final  report),  served  to  prepare  a  Horizon  Europe  Implementation  Strategy.  This  strategy 

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provides  a  consistent  framework  for  all  implementation  aspects.  It  is  designed  for  further 
simplification and will enable the programme’s objectives and novelties from the start. 

Missions 

One  of  Horizon  Europe’s  new  main  features  is  the  introduction  of  missions.  Parliament  and  the 
Council agreed on five areas for possible missions. Five mission boards corresponding to the five 
areas  were  set  up  in  2019  following  a  call  for  interest.  The  boards  unite  experts  in  R&I,  policy-
making, civil society and practitioner organisations. The chairs of the boards were announced in July, 
and the boards started work on advice for specific missions in September. A foresight exercise was 
launched  in  each  area  to  support  the  mission  boards’  work.  Each  mission  area  has  an  assembly 
gathering  a  larger  number  of  high-level  experts  and  providing  additional  ideas,  knowledge  and 
expertise. 

European partnerships   

As  part  of  Horizon  Europe’s  strategic  planning,  the  Commission  identified  49  candidates  for 
European  partnerships  in  a  co-design  exercise  in  the  first  half  of  2019  (see  Annex  7  to  the 
‘Orientations’).  Of  these,  13  have  been  identified  as  candidates  for  institutionalised  European 
partnerships under Articles 185 and 187 TFEU (Parliament and the Council agreed on eight areas for 
possible partnerships). The candidates are undergoing ex ante impact assessment.   

In the second half of 2019, the Commission started work with potential partners and stakeholders to 
ensure  candidate  co-programmed  and  co-funded  European  partnerships  comply  with  Horizon 
Europe’s new ambition and criteria. 

Synergies with other programmes   

During 2019, Parliament and the Council each formally expressed broad support for the approach and 
content of Annex IV ‘Synergies with other programmes’ to the Commission proposal on the Horizon 
Europe  Framework  Programme/Rules  for  participation  and  dissemination1.  The  goal  is  to  harness 
synergies between Horizon Europe and each of the other programmes over the 2021-2027 period, by 
creating sequential synergies and simpler and more effective rules for complementary and combined 
funding.  

3.2 Policy developments 

Planet  

In 2019, climate remained at the top of the European agenda. Special reports of the Intergovernmental 
Panel  on  Climate  Change  (IPCC)  on  ‘Climate  Change  &  Land’  and  ‘Ocean  &  Cryosphere’ 
highlighted  the  urgency  of  the  climate  issue.  The  biodiversity  agenda  gained  momentum  with  the 
launch  of  the  Global  Assessment  on  Biodiversity  led  by  the  Intergovernmental  Science-Policy 
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The Commission presented its ‘European 
Green  Deal’,  which  aims  to  accelerate  progress  towards  the  2030  goals  and  to  make  Europe  the 
world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Key policy measures accompanying the Green Deal 
range  from  cutting  emissions  to  investing  in  cutting-edge  R&I,  preserving  Europe’s  natural 
environment and supporting radical behavioural change. Global and European biodiversity strategies 
are under development, as stated in the Green Deal. The Commission was active in the negotiation 
and  adoption  of  several  IPCC  reports  and  the  IPBES  Global  Assessment  on  Biodiversity  and 
Ecosystem Services.  

1 Interinstitutional negotiations will take place in 2020 on this point. 

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Work continued to implement the 20 policy measures in the Communication on ‘Accelerating clean 
energy innovation’. These contribute through R&I to achieving the objectives of Energy Union.  

Horizon 2020 funding for the Atlantic Ocean increased to almost EUR 200 million, as new projects 
worth over EUR 30 million were launched in 2019. 

The  Commission  launched  a  BlueMED  R&I  pilot  on  a  plastic-free  healthy  Mediterranean,  a  Black 
Sea  Strategic  Research  and  Innovation  Agenda,  and  a  Strategic  Transport  Research  and  Innovation 
Agenda governance group.  

People  

In 2019, the European Commission celebrated 20 years of EU policy on gender equality in R&I. In 
this context, actions and events were organised throughout 2019 to develop policy recommendations 
for the European Research Area (ERA). These addressed EU and national-level policymakers, ERA 
stakeholder  organisations  and  gender  equality  practitioners,  community  of  innovators  and  citizens. 
Results  included  the  release  of  She  Figures  2018  in  March  2019,  the  2019  EU  Prize  for  Women 
Innovators in May, and new projects to implement gender equality plans and analyse gender gaps and 
bias in grant allocation.  

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) are a best practice example in terms of supporting 
women in research and promoting gender equality. The MSCA include work-life balance provisions 
that  attract  in  particular  women  and  thus  contribute  to  the  very  high  participation  rate  of  female 
researchers in the MSCA (41% of all supported fellows).   

The  Commission  published  two  policy  papers  in  2019:  the  Democracy  policy  review,  presenting 
research  results  on  e.g.  electoral  trends,  political  inequalities  and  polarisation,  and  the  Review  on 
Citizenship, presenting research findings on developments in and future prospects for EU citizenship.  

Prosperity  

The 2019 ‘EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard’ highlights the main changes in companies’ 
R&D and economic indicators over the past year and their performance over the past 10 years. It also 
includes patent-based analyses to further chart the R&D efficiency of the health business sector and 
the scoreboard companies’ activity in the field of environmental technology.  

As part of the development of the Open Innovation test-bed concept making it easier for SMEs and 
innovators  to  bringing  new  products  to  market,  a  staff  working  document  on  technology 
infrastructures  was  published  in  May  2019.  The  concept  was  promoted  through  the  ‘Boosting 
Innovation  Tour’,  involving  dissemination  events  in  four  Widening  countries  (Slovenia,  Estonia, 
Romania and Czechia). 

In  a  major  step  towards  making  Europe  a  top  supercomputing  region,  the  European  High-
Performance  Computing  Joint  Undertaking  (EuroHPC)  selected  eight  sites  for  supercomputing 
centres.  These  centres  will  support  development  of  major  applications  in  areas  like  personalised 
medicine, drug and material design, bioengineering, weather forecasting and climate change.  

The Commission is facilitating and enhancing cooperation on  artificial intelligence (AI) across the 
EU  to  boost  its  competitiveness  and  ensure  trust  based  on  EU  values.  Following  its  AI  for  Europe 
strategy, the High-Level Expert Group on AI presented Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI in April 
2019.  The  Commission  also  announced  a  pilot  to  refine  the  assessment  list  helping  organisations 
implement these guidelines. 

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

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International cooperation  

EU  international  cooperation  in  R&I  continued  to  be  key  in  keeping  EU’s  influential  position  as  a 
global  leader  in  the  field  and  for  the  EU  to  remain  competitive.  In  2019,  work  continued  to  boost 
cooperation  with  strategic  partners  and  regions,  in  line  with  EU’s  interest  and  based  on  mutual 
benefit.  In  this  context,  the  Commission  started  in-depth  analysis  to  revamp  its  R&I  international 
cooperation  strategy  to  better  reflect  the  geopolitical  environment  and  help  deliver  on  its  political 
priorities. This analysis ran in parallel to several initiatives and events organised with third countries 
and regions. 

Important  meetings  were  organised  with  Horizon  2020-associated  countries,  such  as  the  Ministerial 
Meeting of the Western Balkans Steering Platform on R&I, the Annual Conference on R&I and the 
Eastern Partnership R&I Panel. An EIT hub was launched in Tel Aviv as a bridge between European 
and Israeli innovators. The preparation of the process to associate third countries to Horizon Europe 
was carried out through the development of key elements of the future association agreement. 

Following  the  4th  EU-China  High  Level  Innovation Cooperation  Dialogue, the Commission  started 
developing a joint roadmap for R&I cooperation. This should be finalised in time the next dialogue in 
2020. 

On  cooperation  with  Africa,  the  ‘Africa-Europe  Innovation  Partnership’  was  launched,  aiming  to 
match innovation hubs, accelerators and incubators from the EU and the African Union. The initiative 
is  strongly  welcomed  by  the  innovation  communities,  evidenced  by  the  numerous  mostly  formal 
partnerships between EU and African incubators and technology hubs agreed under the partnership. 
Open science  

In 2019, the Commission set up formal governance of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) to 
steer the initial (2019-2020) phase of implementation. 

2019  saw  adoption  of:  (i)  the  Directive  on  open  data  and  the  re-use  of  public  sector  information, 
which was broadened to include research data; and (ii) the  Directive on copyright and related rights 
in the Digital Single Market, laying down research-friendly rules on text and data mining. 

The Open Science Policy Platform focused in 2019 on the rewards and incentives system, indicators 
for open science and citizen science. It published a report recommending open experimental pilots and 
a greater focus on making research assessment more qualitative. 

3.3 Partnership with Member States 

In  February  2019,  the  Commission  published  the  ERA  progress  report  2018,  which  assesses  the 
current state of the ERA and progress on ERA implementation in 2016-2018. In June 2019, Member 
States and the Commission worked in an ad hoc group launched by the European Research Area and 
Innovation  Committee  to  advise  on  the  future  and  relaunch  of  ERA.  The  groups’  final  report  was 
adopted in December 2019 as a Council working document. 

In  autumn  2019,  the  Commission  started  work  with  universities,  academics  and  Member  States  to 
develop  the  research  and  innovation  dimension  of  a  shared  vision  on  the  future  of  universities, 
complementing the on-going work on the education dimension. This will feed into the Commission 
Communication on a revitalised ERA and strengthen the links with the European Education Area (see 
chapter 7). 

As part of the European Semester economic policy cycle, the Commission contributed to the 2019 
country reports on each Member State. All EU Member States received in 2019, for the first time, a 

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Country  Specific  Recommendation  (CSR)  that  calls  for  focusing  investment  on  R&I2.  Several 
Member  States  also  received  CSRs  that  call  for  specific  policy  reforms  to  boost  the  quality  and 
efficiency of their national R&I systems. The Annual Sustainable Growth Survey package, issued 
in December 2019, highlighted R&I’s role as a key enabler and driver of the EU’s transformation into 
a sustainable economy.  

The Policy Support Facility assisted multiple Member States, e.g. with peer reviews of the Estonian 
and  Danish  R&I  systems,  specific  support  for  Cyprus,  Latvia  and  Malta,  and  mutual  learning 
exercises on research integrity and international cooperation3.  The ongoing Forward project is part 
of the new EU strategy for the outermost regions. 

The  Group  of  Chief  Scientific  Advisors  provided  scientific  advice  on  the  risks  from  micro  plastic 
pollution, and on best practice in the provision of scientific advice. The impact of the advisors’ work 
is detailed in the Report on the work of Group of Chief Scientific Advisors 2015-2019.  

4. 

Horizon 2020 implementation 

Implementation of Horizon 2020 was on schedule, with updates to the 2018-2020 work programme 
adopted in March, July and October 2019, and the adoption of the European Research Council 2020 
work programme in July.  

4.1     Response to calls for proposals and other actions under the work programmes  

By  end-20194,  8155  Horizon  2020  call  deadlines  had  passed,  with  226,139  eligible  proposals 
submitted,  requesting  a  total  EU  financial  contribution  of  EUR  358.1  billion.  Of  those  proposals, 
27,251 were selected for funding, bringing the overall success rate of eligible proposals in the first 6 
years  to  12.05%.  By  end-December,  27,124  grant  agreements  had  been  signed,  with  a  budget 
allocation of EUR 49.54 billion in EU funding. 

In  2014-2019,  participants  in  Member  States  received  90.9%  of  funding,  with  the  rest  going  to 
associated  countries  (8.4%)  and  other  non-EU  countries  (0.7%).  While  the  participation  share  of 
associated countries (7.6%) is in line with the funding received, that of non-associated third countries 
is  significantly  higher  (4.0%),  indicating  an  interest  in  international  openness,  decoupled  from 
funding. 

Higher education organisations remain are the largest recipient of funding (39.4%), while 24.9% of 
EU funding under the ‘Industrial leadership’ and ‘Societal challenges’ priorities  goes to SMEs.  

4.2   Horizon 2020 - selected features  

Research infrastructures 

The 2019 research infrastructures (RI) calls supported 51 grants worth EUR 299.2 million. These will 
support integrating activities for advanced communities, foster development of new world-class RIs, 
provide individual support to European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and help 
identify the next generation of RIs needed in Europe. Support also went towards improving the EOSC 
portal, creating a network of RI industrial liaison officers, and developing international cooperation. 

European Innovation Council pilot 

2 Country Reports and CSR in 2019 had an emphasis on investment as they were intended to provide specific 
guidance for the programming of EU funds for the next multiannual financial framework. 
3 For a full overview see https://rio.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/policy-support-facility  
4 Situation as of 5 March 2020 (taken from Horizon 2020 Dashboard). 
5 H2020-Adhoc-2014-20 and EURATOM-Adhoc-2014-20 continuous calls counted only once. 

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The  enhanced  European  Innovation  Council  (EIC)  pilot  was  launched  as  a  continuation  of  the  first 
pilot, bringing a fully-fledged EIC closer to reality. The EIC pilot has already made a case for public 
funding successfully attracting other investors. So far, every euro of EIC pilot support for a start-up or 
SME has triggered follow-on investments of EUR 2.4. The EIC Pathfinder pilot has fully integrated 
the  FET-Open  and  FET-Proactive  schemes  with  the  first  targeted  calls  for  funding  game-changing 
technological research launched in March 2019. The EIC Accelerator pilot started providing blended 
finance in parallel to grant-only options, and a portfolio of business acceleration services  to support 
EIC beneficiaries is already in place.  

The introduction of blended finance and equity investments to support transformative innovation is a 
major novelty in EU funding of R&I and part of the EIC’s unique value proposition. An EIC Fund, to 
be  set  up as a  separate  private-law  legal  entity,  will manage  equity  investments,  with the  European 
Investment Bank providing key administration services. 

A major novelty during the pilot phase was the recruitment of EIC programme  managers, who will 
contribute to identifying trends in breakthrough innovation and managing a project portfolio funded 
by the EIC Pathfinder pilot. An EIC pilot Advisory Board composed of 22 experts was set up to assist 
the Commission.  

Enhancing international cooperation 

To reverse the falling trend of international participation during the first years of Horizon 2020, the 
2018-2020 work programme included more than 30 ‘international cooperation flagships’ with an EU 
budget close to EUR 2 billion. These had a clear positive impact on international participation, with 
average  international  participation  in  collaborative  projects  up  from  2.4%  in  2014-2017  to  3.3%  in 
2018  and  3,1%  in  the  first  half  of  2019.  Third-country  contributions  to  Horizon  2020  projects  also 
rose significantly: third-country participants increased their average financial contribution from EUR 
60 million/year to EUR 83 million in 2018 and EUR 130 million in the first third of 2019. Overall, 
third  countries  have  contributed  a  budget  close  to  EUR  500  million  to  Horizon  2020  projects.  The 
MSCA have an outstanding international dimension and continue to account for over half of all third-
country participations in Horizon 2020. 

The International Forum to Advance First Responder Innovation (IFAFRI), currently chaired by the 
Commission,  completed  through  the  IFAFRI  Capability  Gaps  Committee  a  list  of  10  priority 
capability gaps in 2019. The IFAFRI  Industry Day in October and the Annual Forum in November 
were  main  events,  in  which  new  EU-funded  projects  were  displayed  and  main  guidelines  for  a 
Research and Development Agenda for first responders were set up. 

European Research Council (ERC)  

Scientific highlights of the European Research Council (ERC) in 2019 included the first-ever image 
of a cosmic black hole. ERC-funded researchers played a key role in the large-scale ‘Event Horizon 
Telescope’ international research collaboration leading to this result. In 2019, the seventh Nobel Prize 
since 2007 went to an ERC grantee. To widen participation in ERC competitions, two new visiting 
fellowship programmes were launched in Serbia and Romania. 

Widening participation 

Financial  support  to  Widening  countries  rose  to  5.6%  in  2019.  Overall,  Widening  countries’ 
participation  is  in  line  with  their  national  R&I  investment.  63  grants  were  signed  to  implement 
‘spreading excellence and widening participation’ projects, amounting to EUR 269 million. Of these, 
143 will help to establish new centres of excellence or modernise existing ones in Bulgaria, Czechia, 
Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Portugal, with the help of outstanding research institutions from 
other countries as advanced partners.  

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Under a new Horizon 2020 pilot, 2019 saw the launch of the first ‘Widening Fellowships’, modelled 
on  the  MSCA  individual  fellowships.  This  first  call  was  very  successful  and  led  to  a  27%  rise  in 
applications  for  widening  countries  and  a  70%  rise  in  the  number  of  funded  fellowships  in  these 
countries, with 33 Widening fellowships funded in addition to 55 MSCA individual fellowships.  

To  make  MSCA  more  inclusive,  financial  support  for  MSCA  fellows  with  special  needs  was 
launched  in  2019,  leading  to  23  researchers  obtaining  funding  to  overcome  obstacles  to  mobility 
encountered due to disability. 

Planet 

The  Horizon  2020  Framework  Programme  set  the  expected  budget  shares  for  climate  action  and 
sustainable development over the programme’s duration at 35% and 60% respectively. By end-2019, 
spending  had  reached  at  least  29.4%  for  the  former  and  65.6% for the  latter.  Additional  efforts  are 
ongoing, in particular through the dedicated focus areas. 

People  

As  part  of  the  implementation  of  the  Communication  on  ‘Digital  Transformation  of  Health  and 
Care in the Digital Single Market’, the Cofund on Rare Diseases European joint programme started 
in  January  2019.  This  flagship  pilot  bringing  together  over  130  institutions  from  35  countries 
(including  27  Member  States)  will  optimise  knowledge  flow  on  rare  diseases,  aiming  for  rapid 
translation of research results into clinical settings. 

In  January  2019,  the  EU  invested  EUR  50  million  in  novel  testing  and  screening  methods  for 
endocrine  disruptors.  The  eight  new  Horizon  2020  projects  launched  in  this  context  form  the 
European  Cluster  to  Improve  Identification  of  Endocrine  Disruptors  (EURION).  It  will 
collaborate with JRC to promote validation of new methods developed.  

In October 2019, the Commission announced EUR 6 million for the first large-scale clinical trial for 
a  new  Ebola  vaccine  in  the  Democratic  Republic  of  Congo  through  the  Coalition  for  Epidemic 
Preparedness Innovations.  

The European Human Exposome Network was also set up. This initiative, the largest of its kind on 
Exposome,  studies  how  diet,  lifestyle  and  environment  affect  health.  It  contributes  directly  to  the 
European Green Deal.  

Prosperity  

The analysis of technology trends based on Horizon 2020 projects in relation to industrial symbiosis 
confirms that industrial symbiosis has significant potential to contribute to European efforts towards 
CO2  neutrality  and  a  circular  industry  in  Europe.  An  analysis  of  technology  trends  in  relation  to 
industrial  robotics  concludes  that  Europe  is  the  leader  in  industrial  collaborative  robots,  though  it 
might be overtaken by other global regions by 2025, and that collaborative robotics has the potential 
to improve both the economy and society while still embracing European values.  

4.3  Non-nuclear direct actions by the Joint Research Centre  

In  addition  to  its  support  for  policy  development  and  monitoring,  JRC  continued  to  expand  its 
knowledge management activities, launching a new competence centre on behavioural insight. The 
centre provides tools to apply behavioural evidence in policymaking, by identifying behaviours to be 
analysed,  collecting  relevant  evidence,  testing  alternative  policy  action  and  ultimately  informing 
policy decisions. JRC now operates 13 knowledge and competence centres.   

JRC also organised the second European Commission Knowledge Week, with more than 100 events 
and over 3,000 participants. 

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Seven flagship reports6 were published in 2019, providing interdisciplinary analyses with anticipatory 
insights. Extensive work has been done on  fairness, resilience and cybersecurity, with reports to be 
published in 2020. 

Other key achievements:  

   JRC launched a new European Platform on Rare Disease Registration to support knowledge 

sharing for better diagnosis and treatment; 

   an  interactive  online  platform  for  the  Atlas  of  Migration  was  launched  in  December, 
providing information on 60 different indicators on demography, migration, asylum, integration 
and development; 

   JRC supported the set-up of AI Watch, which monitors the development, uptake and impact of 

AI for Europe; 

   JRC  developed  a  RHOMOLO-EIB  Computable  General  Equilibrium  model,  which  runs 

policy simulations to assess the macroeconomic effects of operations. 

   more  than  1,100  publications  related  to  policy  and  almost  700  scientific  peer  reviewed 
publications; around 40% of JRC's peer-reviewed articles were published in the top 10% most-
cited journals. 

4.4  European Institute of Innovation and Technology 

The total EIT financial contribution to implementing Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) 
2019 business plans was EUR 470 million.  

The  EIT  innovation  model  is  working  and  delivering  real  impact  on  some  of  Europe’s  greatest 
societal challenges. In 2019, the EIT community grew to a trusted network of around 1,650 partners, 
with 51 co-location centres/hubs in 16 Member States, making it one of Europe’s largest networked 
innovation  communities.  Since  its  establishment,  the  EIT  supported  over  1,250  start-ups  and  scale-
ups,  created  more  than  6,100  high-skilled  jobs  and  brought  over  600  new  products  and  services  to 
market. 

5. 

Implementation of the Euratom Programme complementing Horizon 2020 

5.1  Indirect actions 

By end-2019, four calls had been concluded, with 192 eligible proposals submitted, requesting a total 
Euratom financial contribution of EUR 725.70 million. Of these, 62 were selected for funding, with a 
Euratom  contribution  of  EUR  271.29  million,  bringing  the  overall  success  rate  of  eligible  full 
proposals since 2014 to 32,12. 

A  fifth  call  concluded  at  the  end  of  2019  (closing  date  25  September).  62  proposals  under  the  call 
were  eligible,  requesting  a  total  Euratom  financial  contribution  of  EUR  265.33  million.  After 
evaluation, 31 proposals were recommended for funding with a contribution of EUR 133.19 million. 
The  grants  should  be  awarded  and  signed  in  2020  if  all  necessary  verifications  are  passed 
successfully.  

6 The reports focused on demographic scenarios for the EU; the future of cities and road transport; the changing 
nature of work and skills in the digital age; the pros and cons of blockchain technology; human’s political 
nature; and China’s innovation and research landscape. 

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5.2 Nuclear direct actions implemented by JRC  

Direct actions implemented by JRC in 2019 covered research and training on the areas selected by the 
programme’s specific objectives:  

improving nuclear safety;  

improving nuclear safeguards non-proliferation and security;  

increasing excellence on basic science knowledge as well as standards and reference materials; 

fostering knowledge management, education and advanced training;  

   providing scientific and technical support to EU-related policies. 

In  2019,  JRC  scientists  published  99  articles  in  peer-reviewed  periodicals  and  37  articles  in 
monographs  or  other  periodicals;  JRC  also  released  15  science-for-policy  documents  and  102 
technical reports, together with reference methods and measurements, technical systems and scientific 
databases.  Lastly,  JRC  organised  25  training  courses  for  professionals  and  students  from  Member 
States and the Commission and opened access to its nuclear research infrastructure.  

6.  

Dissemination, exploitation and communication 

The Horizon 2020 model grant agreement’s open access provisions ensure full availability of nearly 
75,000 publications generated through Horizon 2020 projects. In 2019, 88% of articles published in 
peer  reviewed journals  was  in  Open  Access,  making  Horizon  2020’s  open  access  policy  one  of the 
most successful globally.  

The progressive creation of an integrated exploitation support ecosystem is taking shape: a  Horizon 
Results Platform  that  allows  beneficiaries  to  publicise  their research  results and  identify  needs  for 
further  exploiting  the  results  launched  during  the  R&I  Days  2019.  A  tender  was  finalised  for  new 
dissemination and exploitation booster services to provide targeted services to beneficiaries based 
on their needs. A first edition of the Horizon impact Awards recognising and celebrating outstanding 
Horizon 2020 or FP7 projects with demonstrated social value took place during the R&I Days 2019. 
In addition, steps continue in implementing the data strategy to link and increase the interoperability 
of  framework  programme  data  with  external  datasets  such  as  publications  or  patents,  as  well  as 
national and regional R&I data under a new initiative, the European R&I Data Hub. Progress was 
also  made  on  IRIS,  a  datamining  tool,  and  in  the  tracking  of  research  results  to  better  track  and 
trace FP results and impact over time.    

To improve results dissemination, the Horizon Dashboard providing key information and indicators 
on  funded  projects  continued  to  improve  and  cover  new  political  focus  areas  like  EIC  and  Seal  of 
Excellence. For the first time, it provides consolidated figures on results, notably intellectual property 
rights  and  scientific  publications  from  FP7  and  H2020.  CORDIS  continued  to  produce  the  regular 
Research*eu  magazine  and  thematic  Results  Packs,  complemented  by  outreach  through  events  and 
social media. Moreover, EuroSciVoc, a new multilingual taxonomy of fields of science was launched 
that will allow the semi-automatic classification of projects and serve as a reference vocabulary for 
open science.  

The MSCA European Researchers' Night (NIGHT) has become the largest research communication 
and promotion event in Europe. In 2019, the NIGHT was implemented on 27 September 2019 in more 
than 400 cities and attracted 1.65 million visitors, through 55 projects funded by the MSCA involving 
35,000 researchers. 

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7.  

Outlook   

Interinstitutional negotiations  on  Horizon  Europe (TFEU  and  Euratom)  will end  in  2020,  subject to 
the conclusion of overall negotiations on the EU’s 2021-2027 budget. Horizon Europe’s first Strategic 
Plan  will  be  finalised,  paving  the  way  for  the  first  work  programmes.  This  will  ensure  consistency 
with  the  new  political  priorities,  particularly  climate  change  and  the  digital  transformation.  Special 
measures in the context of the Corona pandemic (COVID-19) will also be taken. 

Substantial effort will go into devising a policy to better promote R&I in Europe to support the UN 
Sustainable  Development  Goals  and  deliver  on  the  EU’s  strategic  objectives.  This  involves  in 
particular  designing  an  overarching  framework  for  investing  EU  resources,  driving  reforms  and 
improving regulatory framework conditions.  

The  Commission  will  present  a  Communication  on  Horizon  Europe  missions  and  a 
Communication on the future of EU research and innovation policy and the ERA by mid-2020. 
ERA will also be a key priority during the Croatian and German Council presidencies in 2020.  

With the aim of contributing to the Future of Europe conference, the second R&I Days will be held 
in  September  2020,  with  stakeholder  engagement  continuing  to  be  a  prominent  part  of  the  Horizon 
Europe strategic planning process and the preparation of Horizon Europe work programmes.’  

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