The European Commission presents the proposal for Horizon Europe

The AgriResearch Conference made evident the need to promote agricultural innovation and education and make farming more sustainable, productive and attractive to young people. In terms of innovation, the perspective of the circular economy  came up regularly during the different sessions. This approach includes taking into account the impact of agriculture in land use, soil quality, climate and food security or water resources. The idea of a systemic perspective was seen in combination with a multi-actor approach to improve cooperation between farmers, farmer advisors, researchers, policy-makers and consumers.

The Biorefine Cluster Europe took part in this annual gathering to present its activities and promote similar innovative research synergies. R&D is crucial to encourage circular economy practices, such as the research projects promoted in the framework of the cluster.

Horizon Europe will release 97.6 billion euros, 20 more than the previous framework programme, to finance R&D projects across Europe. The proposal will now have to be discussed in the European Parliament, that will seek for an additional increase of 20 billion euros. Following the discussion in Parliament, it will have to be approved by Member States via the Council and the programme will be launched in January 2021.