EuroVR Association undersigned the Joint Statement for an Ambitious Horizon Europe Programme, together with 93 European associations representing key European research & innovation stakeholders.

THE GOAL

This initiative aims to call on the Council of the EU to raise the budget allocated to the Horizon Europe program to at least €120 billion (in 2018 prices), of which at least 60% should be dedicated to the “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness” pillar.

This would ensure that Horizon Europe delivers on its promises to:

• Boost Europe’s future growth, employment, and competitiveness. As recognized in the European Industrial Strategy, RD&I is the real engine of growth. Getting a sufficient budget for Horizon Europe would not only mean the creation of up to 100,000 jobs in RD&I activities between 2021-2027, but also €11 of GDP in return for each €1 invested over 25 years1.
  • Secure Europe’s seat amongst the frontrunners of the technological revolution. While the international competition for innovative solutions escalates, European RD&I expenditure remains relatively low compared to our global competitors. The target of 3% of GDP invested in R&D should now become a reality.
  • Develop and scale up the technologies that will power our continent in the 21st century. Horizon Europe needs to build on the successes of Horizon 2020 and scale up the investments made so far. As stated by the Lamy Group, we need a budget that paves the way

It represents a clear message to the Council that the business sector and RTOs stand together and jointly ask for more ambition in research, development, and innovation. This is why the publication date has been set to 16 September, i.e. a week before the European Research and Innovation Days.

THE ASSOCIATIONS INVOLVED

This initiative has been launched by BusinessEurope for the industry and EARTO for RTOs, and counts around 50 signatories so far, covering many sectors: 5G IA, ACEA, AENEAS, AnimalHealth Europe, APPLiA, ARTEMIS, ASD, A.SPIRE, BDVA, BIC, BusinessEurope, CEC, CECE, CECIMO, CEFIC, CEMA, CEM BUREAU, CERAME UNIE, CLEPA, COCIR, Cosmetics Europe, DIGITALEUROPE, EARPA, EARTO, ECTRI, EFFRA, EFPIA, EMIRI, EIRMA, EOS, EPoSS, ERT, ESOA, EUCAR, EURATEX, EUROFER, EUROMETAUX, EUROPABIO, European Aluminium, Fertilizers Europe, FoodDrink Europe, Hydrogen Europe Research, Hydrogen Europe (Industry), IMA Europe, MedTech Europe, ORGALIM, SEMI, UNIFE, Vaccines Europe.

All the associations involved are ready to further discuss these recommendations with the EU Institutions.
If you are interested in the initiative, you can read the full text of the joint statement, or follow the last updates on twitter with the hashtags #MakeEUinnovative #HorizonEU.