France and Germany are suggesting European level action to boost breakthrough innovations as part of the Horizon Europe programme that will take over from the Horizon 2020 programme after 2020.
The joint paper was circulated shortly before the informal dinner of the European leaders, which partly focused on innovation on Wednesday 16 May in Sofia. It explains that research and innovation are “increasingly more crucial” for enabling Europeans to maintain their "technological sovereignty” and to continue to shape the future.
Paris and Berlin consider that Europe has an important role to play. The Franco-German paper of which EUROPE obtained a copy indicates, “The relevant critical mass can in particular cases only be achieved at European level as it enables sharing and mutualizing risks, mobilizing ambitious financial resources, getting access to a larger pool of candidate projects, and easing European scaling up of successful start-ups and technologies”.
The two member states are particularly calling for the future European Innovation Council, which will we set up as part of Horizon Europe (EUROPE 12018), to focus its financial support on deep tech start-ups that are able to create unprecedented technologies and high technology readiness level projects.
The selected projects are expected to emerge from national action or from a boost provided at a European level. The paper highlights areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, second generation digital twins and biocontrol.
On Thursday in Sofia, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, indicated that European leaders would take decisions at the end of June to validate projects in the artificial intelligence domain (EUROPE 12009) and to increase funding for research and innovation.
On Monday 28 May, the European Ministers for Research will discuss the future of the sector in the context of the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). In a paper dated 8 May, the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU pointed out that Europe, which accounts for 20% of worldwide investment in R&D and around a third of scientific publications, “is struggling to translate its scientific excellence into pioneering breakthroughs and innovation”. It highlights the following shortcomings: low private European investment in R&D and a capital risk market that is underdeveloped and fragmented.
Bulgaria is asking ministers about ways to strengthen integration and the impact of research in all European policies and the way in which the next MFF would be able to contribute to fostering synergies between programmes and financial instruments and help boost innovation. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)