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More excellent research, impactful innovation and technology scale-ups are needed to make Europe more globally competitive, secure and sustainable. These recommendations presented to the Commission recently by experts aimed to strengthen both the Horizon Europe (as the main EU research and innovation program) and some other present and future programs.
Background
At the end of 2023, the Commission assessed recommendations on how to enhance the EU research and innovation program, R&I in the short and longer term. The recommendations build on extensive stakeholder consultations and a wide body of evidence and analysis, including external studies.
In 2024 the Commission organized another independent expert report to provide strategic recommendations on maximizing the impact of the EU-wide R&I program in the future. It is based on the preliminary findings and data on Horizon Europe and findings and conclusions stemming from the ex-post evaluation of the Horizon 2020 program and on other sources. It advocates that Europe should pursue a transformative agenda to address four critical and interdependent core spheres of action. This transformative agenda should be implemented in the short term, through specific actions in the last three years of Horizon Europe (2025-2027) and embedded in future EU support to research and innovation.
Reference to: Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation publication “Align, act, accelerate: research, technology and innovation to boost European competitiveness” – Publications Office of the European Union, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/9106236
Experts’ recommendations
The recommendations have been drafted by an independent group of 15 leading experts chaired by Manuel Heitor, former secretary of state for science, technology and higher education in Portugal. Their report, entitled “Align, Act, Accelerate: Research, Technology and Innovation to boost European Competitiveness”, highlights the European added value of the EU framework program for research and innovation (R&I), and puts forward the following twelve recommendations:
= Adopt a whole-of-government approach to align research and innovation with the EU strategy for competitiveness and a clean, digital economy.
= Boost Europe’s global competitiveness by fostering impactful research, innovation and scale-ups through a stronger framework program.
= Deliver European added value via a portfolio of actions focused on competitive excellence, industrial competitiveness, societal challenges and a strong research and innovation system.
= Establish an experimental unit to launch disruptive innovation programs with fast funding options, such as “ARPA-style” initiatives.
= Strengthen competitive excellence by expanding funding for European Research Council, European Innovation Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to attract top talent.
= Create an Industrial Competitiveness and Technology Council to enhance industrial research and innovation investment and ensure relevance to strategic autonomy.
= Form a Societal Challenges Council to address key societal issues, align with EU strategic priorities and engage with philanthropy and civil society.
= Build an inclusive and attractive EU R&I system by securing long-term investments, fostering university alliances and encouraging the member states’ co-investment.
= Simplify the R&I program by reducing administrative burdens, embracing agile funding and streamlining application processes.
= Develop an innovation procurement program to stimulate industrial scaling through demand-driven solutions.
= Approach international cooperation with a nuanced strategy, tailoring partnerships to specific domains and global geopolitical considerations.
= Optimize dual-use technology innovation by managing civilian and military R&I programs by leveraging benefits for national security and civilian needs.
Source: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/2f9fc221-86bb-11ef-a67d-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
Citation
= “Over the past 40 years, EU-funded research and innovation has resulted in major scientific discoveries, breakthroughs in key technologies, substantial economic value and solutions to issues that matter to the people. As we look to improve Horizon Europe, our research and innovation programme, and to prepare the ground for even more impactful, streamlined and targeted European research and innovation policies, harnessing Europe’s full potential and diverse talent pool, we need rigorous analysis and solid evidence. I am confident that this report will inspire meaningful debate among all who share our vision of a strong Europe that supports bold, brilliant ideas and delivers value to its citizens”.
Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation and Research
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_5305
Our opinion
It seems that although “stimulating industrial R&I scaling” is deemed through “demand-driven solutions”, the whole “enhancing approach” is still based on administrative and executive trajectory. Most of the leading experts’ recommendations are on “portfolio of actions focused on competitive excellence”, creating numerous councils and “strong framework programs”, to name a few…
Probably some clear suggestions in the recent twin reports (by Draghi and Letta) concerning strong divide in competitiveness (e.g. between the US and EU) have not been resolute enough!
First of all, Draghi noted in his report vital connections to existing resources: “multiple issues, from the availability of endogenous resources to infrastructure development and market rules, are at the core of the EU’s competitive gap”. The latter included not only the lack in the EU of essential material and energy resources (including “higher volatility and non-transparent financial markets for energy”, “lengthy and uncertain permitting process for new power supply and grids”, etc.), but also higher taxes, red tape and huge administration burden.
The Draghi’s suggestion is that “without adequate action, the EU’s competitiveness gap is expected to persist or increase, driven by a lack of cheap domestic fuels and limited fiscal resources”.
Secondly, the low level of investment is another reason for reducing competitiveness, as the capital markets in Europe remain fragmented. While the Commission has introduced several measures to reduce the markets’ fragmentation, some obstacles remain. For example, as Draghi notes, the lacks a single EU-wide security market regulator and a single rulebook for all aspects of trading; besides, there are high variations in supervisory practices and the interpretation of regulations in the member states. In contrast, the US has had a single supervisor since the 1930s, when the Securities and Exchange Commission was established.
The, the post-trade system in clearing and settlement in Europe is far less unified than in the US: in the latter there is a single central counterparty platform (CCP) and a single central securities depository (CSD) for all equity trades, while in Europe there are more than 20 CCPs and CSDs for equities alone, and different platforms use the services of different CCPs or CSDs. As a result, cross-border transactions are more complex and costlier than domestic transactions, hindering multimarket trading.
Finally, Draghi notes, despite the recent progress made on withholding tax, the whole tax system and insolvency regimes EU-wide remain substantially unaligned; there are still different tax regimes that apply to different securities and/or sets of investors’ capital markets segments; specifically on securities. There are as well significant differences in the EU in thresholds for insolvency, in rules for proceedings, in priorities of claims and restructuring mechanisms.
These and other “obstacles” to enhancing R&I in the world-wide competiveness cannot be settled down without fundamental changes in the EU-wide political economy’s patterns.
More in: https://www.integrin.dk/2024/09/27/challenging-european-priorities-alternative-commissions-features/