First EIC COVID-19 Response certificates

On 8 May, the European Commission granted the first batch of the EIC COVID-19 Response Seal of Excellence to 82  excellent proposals addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. The proposals were submitted under European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Pilot March 20 cut-off. A second batch of COVID-Seals (and standard Seals) will be awarded at the end of May, when the final selection of the funded projects will be announced.

The Seal certificate, co-signed now by Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, and by Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, is addressed to excellent proposals from the EIC Accelerator call which have been evaluated worth of funding but for which Horizon Europe does not have enough resources in the call. The co-signature is a demonstration of concrete synergies between Horizon 2020 and the Structural Funds and the commitment to strengthen those now and in the future. Structural Funds could be one of the alternative sources of funding that these outstanding ideas need now. The aggregated figures of seals in your region, will soon be published on the dashboard. Contact details will be made available pending consent.

National and regional funding authorities, members of the Community of Practice, had the opportunity to learn how to best support these seals at their meeting, which took place on 27 April.

More information

Press release – European Commission

Presentations available here on how to use DG REGIO Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative  and DG COMP Temporary Framework for State Aid applicable to aid for Research and Innovation.