On Wednesday 20 March, the European Parliament (EP) and the Council of the European Union reached a partial political agreement on the new European Framework Programme on Research and Innovation, called Horizon Europe, for the period 2021-2027. This is an important step for allowing and enabling the European Commission (EC) to continue with the preparations of the legal documents and the specific programmes without further delay. EuroScience recognises this is a major move, underlining the key importance of research and innovation for the future of Europe.