Moedas: EFSI and H2020 both bring benefits

Carlos Moedas has reaffirmed his commitment to fostering research and innovation in Europe, drawing attention to the benefits of both the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and Horizon 2020.

Speaking at the European Investment Bank (EIB) conference in Berlin on Monday, the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation reminded delegates that Horizon 2020 has seen a 40% budget increase from the previous programme, making it “the biggest multinational research programme in the world today”. The event also saw German Chancellor Angela Merkel address delegates at the start of the conference.

However, Moedas emphasised the need for additional public and private sector financing for “high risk, high reward projects”. He said that such an aim could be achieved by making better use of the synergies between public funding from Horizon 2020, the new EFSI, Regional Funds for Innovation, and the recently proposed Capital Markets Union.

Speaking to attendees, the Commissioner said: “The EFSI, if used to fund research, science and innovation at every opportunity, could lead to breakthroughs, the consequences of which we can only imagine. Therefore, my call to action is this: let us invest in knowledge and people; let us continue to explore every frontier, so that we may profit from even one lightning bolt of inspiration that will encompass the whole world.”

The two-day EIB conference that is taking place in the German capital is entitled ‘Momentum for Europe: Innovation and Competitiveness’.