At this pivotal moment for Europe's future competitiveness, European institutions must step up their efforts to strengthen Europe’s leadership in research and innovation.

This is the call made by the European University Association, together with CESAER, the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO), the European Roundtable for Industry, the League of European Research Universities (LERU), Science Europe and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, in a newly published joint statement. The seven associations, representing key R&I actors, highlight the importance of achieving European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s vision to boost the EU’s competitiveness and prosperity by ‘putting research and innovation at the heart of our economy’.

To make this vision a reality, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union should ensure the following:

  1. A robust and dedicated European framework programme for research, development and innovation, supporting the full research, development and innovation continuum.
  2. A substantially increased budget reserved for research, development and innovation.
  3. Simplification for beneficiaries and ensuring an attractive programme.

These actions are in line with analyses presented in the recent Letta, Draghi and Heitor reports, which stressed the urgency of enhancing European collaboration in research and innovation. Indeed, this is needed to close the innovation gap and advance competitiveness - while enabling the green and digital transitions, as well as to strengthen Europe’s resilience, security and defence.

“This joint statement comes at a crucial point, as we prepare to discuss the design of FP10 and its role in the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework”, said EUA Secretary General Amanda Crowfoot. “It is encouraging to see different sectors coming together to call for a more strategic and ambitious approach, that will ensure excellent, cooperative, inclusive and impactful R&I across Europe. Strengthening Europe’s leadership in R&I requires bold action, and universities are ready to contribute to this”.

The statement also echoes EUA’s vision for FP10, which outlines the Association’s key recommendations for the tenth EU R&I framework programme, with the ambition of placing R&I at the forefront of societal and scientific progress.

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