The massive increase in the budget of Horizon Europe, which now totals the amount of €95.5 billion, gives a clear political message at a European level that Research and Innovation are the key factors to drive our future.
Speaking during a Horizon Europe Malta Launch Event at Esplora, Minister for Research, Innovation and the Co-ordination of Post Covid-19 Strategy Owen Bonnici said that Horizon Europe is undoubtedly the most ambitious EU funding program for research and innovation ever and the largest transnational programme of its kind worldwide.
Minister Bonnici said that such importance to R&I is also being echoed at national level through various decisions which were taken, including the creation of a new Ministry dedicated to Research and Innovation, the increase in the budget of the national Research and Innovation programme managed by MCST, and the investment in European partnerships and other national schemes managed by MCST aimed at increasing the participation of Maltese entities in Horizon Europe.
“The active participation of Maltese entities and researchers in the EU R&I programme will result in the creation of markets and jobs in Malta. Maltese participation will also attract the best talents to stay in Malta and others to come to Malta, whether as individual researchers or larger companies, to set up their Research, Development and Innovation Departments here,” said Minister Bonnici.
Minister Bonnici said that the launch of this programme marks the start of the European Innovation Council, which will help accelerate the scaling up of breakthrough technologies, which could in turn result into game-changing innovation, thanks to direct assistance to the most promising and innovative start-ups and SMEs, leading to a new generation of world-leading companies based in Europe.
“The fact that the EU’s Research and Innovation framework programme Horizon Europe is proposing a ‘Missions approach’ which can help set broad and ambitious goals in addressing societal challenges. R&I can help us reconcile economic growth and productivity with quality of life and public health, whilst ensuring the highest level of environmental protection,” Minister Bonnici said.
Executive Chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando said that “Malta’s participation has increased over the years”, which indicates that the importance of R&I is being recognised in Malta.
