MEP asks for smart textiles to be Horizon 2020 priority

French MEP Gaston Franco, member of the Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee, has called on the European Commission to make smart textiles one of its priorities under Horizon 2020, in order to “promote the competitiveness of the European Union”.

In a written parliamentary question, he asked the Commission about what “specific support” it intends to grant to “research on smart textiles in the field of health”. The subject is one of the strategic fields identified by Textile2020, an EU initiative promoting SME internationalisation through clusters.

The Commission’s answer is expected to be published in May.