LERU claims that it is time to close the deal on Horizon 2020
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) calls upon the EU institutions to wrap up as soon as possible the discussions on Horizon 2020 and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020.
LERU considers that, looking at the present situation of the Horizon 2020 Trialogue (negotiations between European Commission, Council and Parliament), it is clear that a second reading of the legislative texts is to be avoided at all cost, so that a smooth transition from Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to Horizon 2020 can be achieved.
LERU warns that if no agreement is reached under the current Presidency, then the funding of EU research in 2014 will be irreparably compromised. This would mean a serious blow to the Innovation Union goals which the EU set itself.
In the final discussions, the main goals of this long negotiating process must be kept in mind. Two of them are programme simplification and sustainable funding. The simplification agenda as originally proposed by the European Commission is an absolute priority and should not be endangered by unrealistic desires leading to red tape. Nor should it be endangered by differentiated funding rules (of which the added value will be limited), which would again complicate matters significantly.
On the contrary, LERU claims that funding rules which lead to sustainable funding for as many players as possible in the game are needed, whereby the goal should not be to fund as many projects as possible but only those that are excellent.
LERU trusts that the different EU institutions will act with the necessary confidence so that a final Horizon 2020 agreement is reached under the Irish Presidency. All this assumes an acceptable agreement is reached on the MFF, where for Horizon 2020 the absolutely minimum should be 75 billion euro.
Horizon 2020 will be the new research and innovation framework programme to substitute FP7. LERU is an association of twenty-one leading research-intensive universities that share the values of high-quality teaching within an environment of internationally competitive research. Besides the University of Barcelona, it is composed by other universities such as the University of Cambridge, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Paris-Sud.
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) calls upon the EU institutions to wrap up as soon as possible the discussions on Horizon 2020 and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2014-2020.
LERU considers that, looking at the present situation of the Horizon 2020 Trialogue (negotiations between European Commission, Council and Parliament), it is clear that a second reading of the legislative texts is to be avoided at all cost, so that a smooth transition from Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to Horizon 2020 can be achieved.
LERU warns that if no agreement is reached under the current Presidency, then the funding of EU research in 2014 will be irreparably compromised. This would mean a serious blow to the Innovation Union goals which the EU set itself.
In the final discussions, the main goals of this long negotiating process must be kept in mind. Two of them are programme simplification and sustainable funding. The simplification agenda as originally proposed by the European Commission is an absolute priority and should not be endangered by unrealistic desires leading to red tape. Nor should it be endangered by differentiated funding rules (of which the added value will be limited), which would again complicate matters significantly.
On the contrary, LERU claims that funding rules which lead to sustainable funding for as many players as possible in the game are needed, whereby the goal should not be to fund as many projects as possible but only those that are excellent.
LERU trusts that the different EU institutions will act with the necessary confidence so that a final Horizon 2020 agreement is reached under the Irish Presidency. All this assumes an acceptable agreement is reached on the MFF, where for Horizon 2020 the absolutely minimum should be 75 billion euro.
Horizon 2020 will be the new research and innovation framework programme to substitute FP7. LERU is an association of twenty-one leading research-intensive universities that share the values of high-quality teaching within an environment of internationally competitive research. Besides the University of Barcelona, it is composed by other universities such as the University of Cambridge, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Paris-Sud.