Approve H2020 funding, urges ERC and ERT

Representatives from the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT) are calling on EU leaders to approve the €80bn budget for Horizon 2020.

In a joint letter, Leif Johansson, chairman of the ERT and communications company Ericsson, and Helga Nowotny, president of the ERC, said they had ‘strong concerns’ about possible reductions in EU research funding.

‘Any reduction in the funding to support excellent research will result in Europe having limited means to attract outstanding talent in a highly competitive global market. We cannot risk losing a generation of talented scientists, just when we need them most.’

They added that €80bn was the ‘bare minimum necessary’ to fund research combatting the key problems facing society and that ‘the prosperity of Europe’ depended on staying ahead of competitors.

The letter was also signed by Peter Löscher, vice-chairman of ERT and chief executive of Siemens, and Tim Hunt, a member of the ERC Scientific Council.

The European Council will meet on Thursday this week for a two-day summit aiming to reach agreement on the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework. There are fears that the spending for 2020 could be cut by €10bn as a result of budget compromises.

Under the European Commission’s current spending plans, the ERC would see a near 75% increase in its budget to over €13bn. The ERC funds pioneering research by top-level scientists working in Europe.

To read the letter in full, please click here.