The European Commission’s Expert Group on the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe, chaired by former Portuguese Minister of Science Prof Manuel Heitor, published its much anticipated Report with recommendations to strengthen Horizon Europe and the upcoming 10th EU Framework Programme (FP10) - entitled “Align Act Accelerate. Research, Technology and Innovation to boost European Competitiveness” - on 16 October 2024. ESMO overall welcomes the publication of the Heitor Report and greatly supports its recommendation to allocate a robust and ambitious budget to FP10.
ESMO engaged with the Heitor group ahead of the publication and is listed among the contributors to the Report, and the Society especially welcomes its recommendation to allocate a budget of €220 billion to FP10, which aligns with earlier calls made by ESMO on the budget of the next Framework Programme. ESMO considers that taking such action, which would more than double the EU’s research budget currently set at €95.5 billion for Horizon Europe, is essential for driving cancer research and funding all excellent proposals from the research community.
In addition, the Society welcomes the emphasis of the report on promoting a ‘5th freedom’ across the EU Single Market enabling the free and seamless movement of research, innovation, knowledge and education - in line with the Letta Report published earlier in 2024.
The Framework Programmes are the largest public research schemes of the EU providing public funding for research and innovation, including research conducted in the oncology space. Horizon Europe is the 9th and current EU Framework Programme, running from 2021-2027. This programme will be succeeded by FP10 which will run from 2028-2034.
The Heitor Expert Group, which started its work in December 2023, was launched to provide strategic advice on the EU Framework Programmes. The recommendations of the group, set out in the “Align Act Accelerate” report, are expected to feed into the development of the FP10 programme.
In view of the preparations for the legislative proposals for FP10, anticipated to be put forward in mid-2025, ESMO empathises that cancer remains one of Europe’s major society challenges, with new cancer cases set to increase from over 4.4 million in 2022 to 5.33 million in 2040. The Society also reiterates its call to ensure that supporting cancer research becomes a key priority of the FP10 programme and urges the inclusion of specific targets, goals and commitments in the upcoming FP10 legislative proposals aimed at driving innovation in oncology and boosting cancer treatment development.
Lastly, in line with the recommendation made by the Heitor Report, ESMO calls on the European Commission to propose a budget of at least €220 billion for FP10 as part of the forthcoming legislative proposals for the programme. The Society stands ready to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure that FP10 becomes a robust instrument for driving cancer research, benefiting patients with cancer and society at large.