« Collaborative research is the essence of what makes the FP unique and successful » (V. Robin)

« Collaborative research is the essence of what makes the EU Framework Programmes unique and successful. Collaborative projects bring together scientists, start-ups, industries, and policymakers across borders, tackling systemic challenges that no country can solve alone at its own costs and in an acceptable time frame », states Virginie Robin, Board member of EAIC and CEO of Euronovia, a French consultancy firm specialised in European funding, in an opinion piece for News Tank on 10/09/2025.

She writes as the European Commission published its proposal for the EU’s next multi-annual budget on 16/07/2025, which appears to allocate a smaller share to Pillar 2 in FP10 compared to FP9 : « Under Horizon Europe, Pillar 2 'Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness' represents the vast majority of collaborative projects, 54 % of the programme’s overall budget. In the budget proposed by the European Commission for FP10, projections are lowered to 43.4 %. »

According to the Founder of Euronovia, « Cutting back on Pillar 2 is a short-term strategy with critical long-term…