On 4 June 2020, the Industry Committee of the European Parliament (ITRE Committee) has voted to enter into interinstitutional negotiations for five multiannual financial framework files (MFF).

Together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, the ITRE Committee can start negotiations on Horizon Europe and other pieces of legislation where it is the lead committee.

As a reminder, the next seven-year framework programme for R&D of the European Commission will succeed Horizon 2020 in 2021. This vote represented the last step to be taken in order to reach an agreement on the legislative files before the launch of Horizon Europe.

In the meantime, the seven-year budget is still debated by the member states: no agreement has been reached yet. In a press release, the ITRE Committee highlighted the necessity to find an agreement as soon as possible to avoid any delays concerning the start of the programmes in January 2021.

The press release is available here.