EU R&D missions ‘need reorienting’ says university group

Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities calls for stronger research focus and smaller projects

The EU’s new R&D-based missions on climate change, cancer, soils, ocean protection and environmentally friendly cities need to be “reoriented”, a university group has said.

Introduced to the bloc’s 2021-27 R&D programme, Horizon Europe, the missions are intended to catalyse progress on major societal challenges by 2030, such as by improving the lives of three million people affected by cancer.