In May 2018, the proposal for Horizon Europe (as the future successor for the
Horizon 2020 programme, 2014–2020) called for €100 billion in research and innovation spending for years 2021–2027. Of that sum, €2.4 billion was earmarked for the
Euratom nuclear research programme and €3.6 billion was put away for an umbrella investment fund, called InvestEU. After accounting for 2% annual inflation, in 2018 the funding for Horizon Europe amounted to €86.6 billion. The budget of €95.5 billion for Horizon Europe, which was launched in 2021, is up from the €77 billion budget for its predecessor, Horizon 2020. Compared to the previous framework programme Horizon 2020, some changes in terms of cost reporting have been implemented with the objective to simplify the grant management process. To pay for the €100 billion science spending, the commission's plan called for cuts to
agriculture and
cohesion funding by 5 per cent. Additionally, the plan seeks to tie funding to adherence to the
rule of law in member states, including judicial independence. Former
EU commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation
Carlos Moedas, along with many advocacy groups, had pushed for a more expansive
EU science budget. In order to build political support for the budget increase, he used
American originated ideas of "
moonshots" to focus research efforts and boost the public interest. Wealthier EU members have expressed opposition to the increase in funding, with former
Dutch prime minister
Mark Rutte saying in May 2018 the draft budget was "unacceptable". == Project types ==