Tiit Land, president of the Estonian Rectors' Conference, turned to the Ministry of Finance, saying that its preliminary proposal would reduce the EU funding sought by the Ministry of Education and Research for research from €195 million to €30 million. Funding intended for education would fall from more than €377 million to €95 million.

The letter said that, compared with funding during the current period, this would represent a more than sevenfold cut in research and a more than four-and-a-half-fold cut in education. Estonia's ability to bring research results into businesses, develop the necessary research infrastructure and attract talent to the country depends to a significant extent on structural funds, Land said in the letter.

The issue concerns the planning of structural funds for the EU's next funding period. The funds support research and development activities overseen by the Ministry of Education and Research. The Estonian state is now planning how funding will be distributed during the next seven-year period.

"In practical terms, you could say that this money does not actually exist," Land said.

Triin Tomingas, head of the foreign financing department at the Ministry of Finance, said that, under the European Commission's proposal, Estonia will receive a total of €6.5 billion in support during the EU's next budget period. Of this, €5.4 billion can be allocated this fall. The remainder must be held in reserve under EU rules.

Requests exceed the funding available

"There are always, and understandably, significantly more requests than the amount of funding made available to us," Tomingas said.

She added that if all the submitted requests cannot be included in full in the EU funding package, this does not constitute a cut. No funding is being taken away from any field; rather, it is not possible to provide additional funding to the extent requested.

"In the spring, ministries submitted funding applications totaling €11.4 billion — more than twice the amount that can be covered," Tomingas said.

Based on the applications, the Ministry of Finance prepared background material and proposals for political discussions, which began in the government this week alongside state budget talks.

Tomingas said the material prepared for the government examined fields more broadly than the application of any single ministry, as the key consideration is the total amount of funding directed toward a field and the objective it is intended to achieve. This also applies to research and development and innovation, which are not handled solely by the Ministry of Education and Research in Estonia.

"We have therefore proposed more than €600 million in funding across several ministries to promote competitiveness, research and development, innovation and entrepreneurship, of which more than €100 million has been proposed specifically for research and development and innovation measures," Tomingas said.

The remainder could be used to support industrial policy, export capacity, the digitalization and automation of businesses, business creation and small and medium-sized enterprises.

In addition, greater opportunities for financing research and development and innovation are available through the EU's centrally managed funds. Funding for competitiveness and innovation will increase during the next period and applications can be made, among other things, for funding to improve the quality of Estonian research and the country's capacity for innovation.

Funding will be higher during the next period

"Estonian research institutions and businesses have so far been very successful in applying for these funds. Funded projects have brought €286 million to Estonia," Tomingas said.

She said opportunities will increase during the new period and the contribution of centrally managed funds to Estonia's research and development and innovation sector will be significantly greater during the next budget period.

The proposal for education measures totals €240 million. Most of this has been proposed for the Ministry of Education and Research, with a smaller amount going to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications for workforce development measures.

EU support will also be supplemented by national co-financing, which amounts to 40 percent under the European Commission's proposal.

The government will discuss priorities and the possible distribution of funding for the next budget period over the coming weeks. No decisions have yet been made on funding for any field.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and X and never miss an update!