In a long study published on Thursday 12 September on research and innovation, BusinessEurope calls for a significant increase in the budget of the Horizon Europe framework programme to €120 billion.
This request is in line with the position of the European Parliament, which last December adopted a report also calling for a budget of €120 billion (see EUROPE 12142/5) against nearly €100 billion proposed by the European Commission (see EUROPE 12018/5).
In addition, the employers' organisation suggests that 60% should be allocated to the second pillar of Horizon Europe, dedicated to global challenges and European industrial competitiveness, in order to support key technologies and fight against the Valley of Death, the gap between a scientific discovery and its commercial application.
In addition, BusinessEurope suggests establishing a regulatory framework that is favourable to innovation: an environment that does not try to corset innovation with too heavy rules, but, on the contrary, that accompanies it, in order to make the Union a “leader”, citing artificial intelligence as an example. To this end, it is necessary to systematically apply the “innovation principle” at all stages of the policy cycle, explains BusinessEurope, by supporting in particular the “sandboxes for RDI” at national level.
To consult the entire study: http://bit.ly/2kGwXG0 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)