RESEARCH COUNCIL/HORIZON 2020 : DANES TO FORGE AGREEMENT ON STRUCTURE, CYPRIOTS ON FINANCES.

Ministers for research and innovation have given a good start to the negotiations on the details of the Horizon 2020 programme, Danish Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education Morten Ostergaard said, on 2 February. Informal discussions at the research section of the Competitiveness Council gave him the impression that "that there is strong support for the ambitious programme" of the Commission. Chances are that this approach will hold until the end of the term, as the Danish Presidency's stated goal is to reach an agreement on the "design and architecture" of the framework. The amount and distribution of the funding, which is expected to be higher than in any other seven-year period before, is to be settled by Cyprus.

The meeting took off with an exchange of views between politicians and various stakeholders, on 1 February. Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), made particularly positive comments about the robustness of the proposal, calling it "the most comprehensive research and innovation programme" he had ever seen.

RESEARCH

Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn was glad to see ministers recognise the Commission's change of approach. She also welcomed that "research is no more a side issue, but finally is at the heart of economic policy". She stressed her belief that whatever the outcome of the fiscal compact' negotiations, governments would stay committed to the cause.

The day's discussions focused on three main areas: establishing Horizon 2020 as a...