EUA cites its disappointment after EFSI Parliament vote
The European University Association (EUA) has said it deeply regrets the signal that is being sent to the research community following the formal adoption of the regulation creating the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) on Wednesday.
Following the agreement reached in trialogue discussions between the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament, the vote confirmed that the EFSI EU guarantee will be financed via the reallocation of resources originally dedicated to the Connecting Europe Facility and Horizon 2020: €2.2bn will be drawn from Horizon 2020 to the EU guarantee, down from the originally proposed €2.7bn.
The EUA notes that the new amount will be spread over the other pillars of Horizon 2020, excluding Excellent Science and Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation, in proportion to the distribution initially proposed by the European Commission.
Whilst fundamental research is not affected by EFSI, with the funding originally foreseen for the European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions being restored, collaborative research remains affected by the cuts. The EUA is also citing the importance of university research for Europe’s overall economic recovery.
The EUA says it will hold European institutions and the governments of the EU member states to their promise of making the most extensive use of available margins in the EU budget each year, with the view to relieve the pressure on Horizon 2020 resources. The organisation adds that a second draft budget for 2016 – expected to soon be released by the European Commission – will constitute a first test.
The Council is expected to formally endorse the regulation by written procedure before it enters into force in July.
