EU announces €22bn innovation investment

The European Commission, EU member states and European industry will invest more than €22bn over the next seven years in innovation for sectors that deliver high quality jobs.

The newly-announced package is composed of €8bn of investment from Horizon 2020 in addition to €10bn from industry and close to €4bn from member states.

Commenting on the announcement, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said: “The EU must remain a leader in strategic global technology sectors that provide high quality jobs. This innovation investment package combines public and private funding to do just that. This is a perfect demonstration of the leverage effect of the EU budget for growth and jobs.”

Most of the investment will be invested in five public private partnerships, comprising innovative medicines; aeronautics; bio-based industries; fuel cells; and hydrogen and electronics. It’s hoped the research partnerships will boost the competitiveness of EU industry in sectors that already provide more than four million jobs.

It’s intended that the cash will also be invested in research to help find solutions to major challenges facing society; these include reducing carbon emissions and developing the next generation of antibiotics. The package also proposes to extend an initiative to pool research and innovation investments in Air Traffic Management, particularly the Single European Sky ATM Research Programme, in support of the Single European Sky.