Geoghegan-Quinn said EU research funding is now at the top of the political agenda and is at the centre of an Innovation Union strategy which will form the bedrock of Europe’s plans to compete against the US and China.
Grants will promote research to tackle the biggest societal challenges facing Europe and the world. Universities, research organisations and industry will be among more than 16,000 funding recipients.
Special attention will be given to SMEs, including a package close to €1bn. There will also be a new EU Prize for Women Innovators whose work has been funded by FP7 or earlier programmes.
The majority of the "calls for proposals" will be published tomorrow, 20 July.
"Today, Europe is again showing its commitment to putting research and innovation at the top of the political agenda for growth and jobs," Geoghegan-Quinn said. "EU-wide competition for these funds will bring Europe's best researchers and innovators together to tackle the biggest issues of our time, such as energy, food security, climate change and our ageing population. The Commission is proposing a significant increase in research and innovation funding for our Horizon 2020 programme post-2013 and I want to show taxpayers already with the calls we are announcing today our determination to get the best value for every euro,” she said.
In all, €220m of the €656m available for health research and €240m of the €1.3bn in funding for information and communication technology (ICT) will be allocated to work aimed at tackling the challenge of providing for an ageing population.
The rest of the ICT funding will go to key developments in network and service infrastructures, in nano-/micro-systems, photonics and robotics, in digital content and language technologies and for applications such as ICT for health and ICT for energy efficiency.
Around €900m in support for researchers' mobility and careers will be provided through 'Marie Curie Actions' for around 10,000 highly-qualified researchers. This will include €20m for a pilot project to fund 'European Industrial Doctorates', to stimulate entrepreneurship and co-operation between universities, research institutions and companies.
The €265m reserved for environment research will help address major challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss or resource efficiency.
In response to the increasing demand for safer, healthier food and sustainable bio-resources, the European Commission will invest more than €307m in building a strong bio-economy that will improve production methods, create new industries and provide jobs.
Some €488m for nanotechnologies will focus on areas such as factories of the future, green cars and energy-efficient buildings.
Research and innovation for cleaner, safer and more efficient transport and mobility will get €313m.