Speaking at the informal Council meeting on research and innovation in Sofia on Friday 2 February, Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas set out his thoughts on and vision for the planned European Innovation Council (EIC) after 2020 for research ministers.
The EIC was the centrepiece for ministers, brought together by the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU to discuss future EU research and development policy. From the moment of his arrival, Commissioner Moedas made clear the challenge facing the meeting: ensuring that the EU excels in “turning know-how into euro”, in other words making sure that research, including basic research, brings commercial benefits.
In his speech to ministers, he said that Horizon 2020 had delivered proven results in terms of incremental innovations but less in breakthrough innovations. Thus, citing the success of the European Research Council, he argued for a European Innovation Council which would focus on individual innovators, on projects that were the “best of the best” and on efficient and effective management. The aim, he stated, would be to create a European innovation brand. He called for the foundations of a genuine European Innovation Council to be laid in the next multiannual financial framework.
At the informal Council, the high-level group of innovators, set up by Moedas a year ago, presented its report for ministers, outlining the said Council. The report, published on 24 January, provides 14 recommendations which include: - EIC awards for breakthrough innovations; - changing evaluations to enable risk-taking; - face-to-face interviews with researchers; - reducing the administrative burden; - improving communication with citizens; - improving access to European funding (The report is available at: http://bit.ly/2n9eAaQ ).
At the press conference, in response to a question from EUROPE on the place given to support for research and innovation in the forthcoming multiannual financial framework, Commissioner Moedas said he would like to see a doubling of funding and he cited the report by Pascal Lamy (see EUROPE 11821). He also welcomed the French proposal for a European breakthrough innovation agency – the first time he had heard such a term, he said.
Bulgarian Education and Science Minister Krasimir Valchev said that the discussions between the member states and the various players invited to attend the informal meeting would inform a report to be presented to the relevant Council in the coming months. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)