EUA urges Juncker and MEPs not to u-turn on research
EUA’s campaign on the Investment Plan and the European Commission’s proposed cuts to Horizon 2020 entered a crucial second phase last week.
Through an open letter to President Jean-Claude Juncker EUA urged the Commission not to u-turn on its previous commitments to European research. A separate letter was sent to specific Members of the European Parliament involved in scrutinising the proposal, calling on them to reject the plan in its current form which would harm the research capacities of universities in their respective constituencies and damage Europe’s long-term growth and competitiveness. The action has been reported across Europe and builds on the work undertaken in the first phase of the campaign, namely the statements issued in December and January and the joint statement with the ERA stakeholders.
The Commission’s proposal, known as the European Funding for Strategic Investments (EFSI), was initiated to tackle Europe’s investment gap. EUA has made it clear throughout this campaign that it supports efforts to boost Europe’s growth but removing 2.7 billion Euros from the Horizon 2020 programme is not the way to do it. The proposed cuts span over the full scope of the programme, affecting the Excellent Science pillar (for instance the European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions) as well as the Societal Challenges pillar (collaborative research).
EUA argues that cutting this budget would downgrade the importance of research funding at a European level. Indeed the Association is convinced that the European Union puts itself at risk of losing ground against competitors that are investing heavily in research and that the cuts induced by the proposal will only aggravate an already difficult situation. Several EU countries have substantially reduced research funding as a consequence of the economic crisis, as revealed by EUA’s annual Public Funding Observatory. The proposal, as it stands, follows an unacceptable trend of cuts to research and sends the wrong signal to national and regional policy makers.
The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will vote on the EFSI proposal at the end of March. While EUA will continue to lobby the European institutions in this regard, it’s crucial that our network is mobilised to ensure that the university community’s voice is heard.
EUA’s Investment Plan Campaign, Phase Two — February 2015
- Open letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Commissioner for Research Carlos Moedas.
- Letter addressed to Members of the European Parliament involved in the legislative procedure (leading committee and opinion committees).
- EUA members operating in countries that participate in the Horizon 2020 programme invited to lobby their MEPs and/or national governments and permanent representations in Brussels.
- EUA is considering further action in partnership with the ERA stakeholders.
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