European Council will not “subordinate research to industrial policy”
The European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy took evidence this week on the European Council’s R&I priorities for the upcoming session. Following Ireland’s assumption of the Council presidency in July, the committee heard from James Lawless, Irish Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
Lawless said that Europe’s research and innovation system is one of its strongest assets, but that its contribution to wider EU priorities needed to be optimised: “in particular, enhancing Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, and prosperity.” He said that the Irish presidency’s priorities would be advancing negotiations on the Horizon Europe successor programme, as well as those on the European Research Area Act, for which the European Commission will soon set out proposals.
The minister characterised discussions between member states on Horizon Europe as “intensive”, but said that there has now been a “broad convergence” on the main strategic priorities for the tenth framework programme.
In answer to committee questions on FP10’s budget, he declined to provide figures given ongoing negotiations, but suggested there would be a “very significant increase,” representing a substantial uplift on the current programme’s budget.
European People’s Party member Christian Ehler said that there was currently a “fundamental disagreement” in the European Parliament over governance and the link between Horizon Europe and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), which he said could put “future-oriented research” at risk. Ehler asked how the Council would prevent FP10’s budget from being “cannibalised” by the ECF.
James Lawless described concerns about the link between FP10 and the ECF as “well understood and well ventilated,” and emphasised that the Council’s objective was not to “subordinate” research and innovation to industrial policy. Rather, he suggested, there should be “great complementarity and synergy.”
He also signalled a busy autumn ahead to get Horizon Europe negotiations over the line as soon as possible:
“It is in all of our interest and every citizen of Europe’s interest to get agreement quickly on FP10, so that there is sufficient time to design and programme the work programme and have it ready when the new programme is due to start January 28. It will not be enough to have it done the night before. We need to have it done in advance so that we can actually move forward and have the planning done.”