EU committed to research and innovation through the Horizon Europe Widening Programme

What is Horizon Europe Widening?

The ability to conduct successful transnational research and innovation projects in the EU varies from country to country. Some are more disadvantaged than others be it in the form of a lack of scientific infrastructure, ability to establish or access networks, maintain and retain talents or overcoming structural barriers at institutional, regional or national level.

Under Horizon Europe, the European Commission seeks to bridge these gaps by literally ‘Widening’ the scope of funding to strengthen research and innovation across Europe as a whole.

Participating countries and subsequent projects in the programme are able to upgrade their research and innovation systems, making them stronger and allowing the EU as a whole to advance together, in line with the policy objectives of the European Research Area.

Developments in Cyprus are good example. In an effort to overcome some structural limits in the investment of Cyprus’s landscape in research, technology development and innovation (RTDI) it has been identified as one of the key beneficiaries of the Widening programme.

Under the Horizon Europe Widening programme a number of projects in different domains are implemented, in line with the smart specialisation strategies of the region to promote the country’s economic competitiveness and sustainability.

The Marine and Maritime Research, Innovation and Technology Centre of Excellence (CMMI) project is a concrete example. It seeks to play a key role in the country’s economic and social transformation by setting up the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI).

CMMI the Centre itself, has been established under the H2020 project CMMI-MaRITec and is aiming at driving sustainable Blue Growth by addressing the needs of industry and society within the spectrum of marine and maritime sectors.

Blue growth refers to the EU’s blue economy initiative, part of the European Green Deal. It seeks to mitigate the effects of climate change by developing offshore renewable energy, decarbonizing maritime transport and greening ports with a strong focus on Europe’s ‘Blue’ seas. This H2020 funding will propel the next generation of Cyprus based researchers and overall contribute towards greater research and innovation.

More information:

All organisations eligible in Horizon Europe can participate in the Widening actions but only organisations based in Widening countries can participate as coordinators. Widening countries are less performing in terms of research and innovation with respect to the average EU 27. According to the Horizon Europe regulation the Widening countries are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and all associated countries with equivalent characteristics in terms of R&I performance and the Outermost Regions.

For each specific call, applicants should check the eligibility conditions mentioned in the Work Programme and the related Calls.