Where do we go from here?

What the next 12 months have in store for European research policy

Much as we might want to forget 2020 due to the pain and disruption caused by the Covid-19 crisis, 2021 will inevitably be shaped by the preceding 12 months. But for research, it still promises to be a more multifaceted year than the one we’ve just left behind.

In December 2020 the EU set itself up for 2021 and the years to follow by signing off its €1 trillion 2021-27 budget framework and its €750 million Covid-19 recovery fund. This should enable it to launch its mix of new and revitalised programmes more or less on time and as planned.