European Commission to centralise research and innovation funding
The European Commission is planning to set up a new European Competitiveness Fund that would merge several existing EU funding programmes, including the post-2027 Framework Programme for Research (FP10), according to a leaked memo, ScienceBusiness reported, which obtained the draft, released on 11 May on behalf of President Ursula von der Leyen and Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin.
The fund aims to provide a single governance framework to replace the current fragmented programmes supporting innovation, digitisation and industrial policy.
The explanatory memorandum of the proposal states that programmes such as Horizon Europe and Digital Europe are characterised by overly complex rules and overlaps, especially for SMEs.
[I]t is therefore essential to join and scale up the tools of existing programmes to become a true European Competitiveness Fund, providing coherent support along the investment journey,
the Commission's note says.
The new fund would be built around five main pillars - or a few "sector windows" - with a common financial toolbox and an advisory board made up of industry, research and investors.
The plan has provoked heated debates among Member States, the European Parliament and research interest groups, who are calling for separate research programmes. Critics fear that research and innovation could get lost in a logic dominated by industrial and competitiveness concerns.
The European Commission, on the other hand, argues that a comprehensive fund can better support EU competitiveness objectives and simplify access to resources.
The leaked document also suggests that some programmes, such as Erasmus+, could remain in their own right, but that their operating model would be changed. These programmes would receive separate pockets of funding from the so-called "Horizon Competitiveness Fund", which appears to be the same as the proposed Competitiveness Fund. The first proposal for the post-2027 multiannual budget is expected to be formally presented on 16 July.
Cover photo (for illustration purposes only): EU
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