Bioscience institutes worries over H2020 cuts
The National Institutes of Bioscience (NIB) of the United Kingdom has urged the European Parliament and EU member states to safeguard the Horizon 2020 budget from the proposed diversion of funds to the proposed European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI).
In a press statement, the NIB described Horizon 2020 as the EU’s most important source funding for basic research and innovation, adding that the plan by Jean-Claude Juncker to shift €2.7bn from the Horizon 2020 budget to create the EFSI threatens existing research programmes. The organisation added that such a move highlights a worrying lack of commitment to long term, investigator-led, basic research funding.
The statement is signed by eight leading researchers in the UK national bioscience sector, namely David Hume, chair of the UK National Institutes of Bioscience and director of The Roslin Institute; Dale Sanders, director of the John Innes Centre; Michael Wakelam, director of the Babraham Institute; and John Fazakerley, director of the Pirbright Institute. Also signing the statement is Richard Mithen, interim director of the Institute of Food Research; Mario Caccamo, director of the Genome Analysis Centre; Mike Gooding, director of the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Affairs; and Achim Dobermann, director of Rothamsted Research.
The signatories say they recognise the importance of stimulating economic growth and driving innovation in the EU, but an effective basic research funding system that creates and develops scientific excellence and expertise is key to attracting private partnerships and investment; diverting funds from Horizon 2020 would damage these goals.
The co-signers add that compromising the programmes of Horizon 2020 will undoubtedly have a negative impact on future development. Basic research programmes directed towards public good are not, and will not be compensated by private investment and will not be met by EFSI. The NIB adds that there is a clear need to articulate the objectives, activities and mechanisms of the EFSI, as their success will in many cases depend on existing Horizon 2020 programmes.
The NIB concludes that excellence in research should be a top priority for the EU and therefore, the NIB strongly advocates protection of the Horizon 2020 budget.
