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European industry leaders want next EU R&I programme to include dual-use technology and “financial firepower”
A group of European industry leaders have called for a greater commitment to research and innovation in the EU’s next research framework programme, including allowing dual-use defence research.
Framework programme 10 will succeed the current Horizon Europe, which is worth €93.5 billion for 2021-2027.
The European Round Table for Technology (ERT), which brings together chief executives and chairs from 60 of Europe’s largest industrial and technology companies, released a report that called for EU decision-makers to tear down “the artificial ‘fences’ that exclude ‘dual-use’ projects—and correct a major weakness of Horizon Europe” in FP10.
Call to prioritise defence research
The inclusion of dual-use technology should focus on “drawing the line only between innovation for specifically military applications and ‘everything else’”, saying that research for defence encompasses fields as disparate as aviation, artificial intelligence, chemicals, energy and health, says the report.
Military-specific R&D should still be excluded due to lack of security capacities within FP10, it adds.
The report urges prioritising defence research in Europe, saying that “current defence technology will become obsolete and ineffective sooner rather later” due to global competition.
Horizon Europe has already lost some funding to other causes such as defence, prompting worries that defence research could dilute the focus of FP10.
Competition
The report also challenges the EU to follow through on its recent focus on competitiveness with “financial firepower and pragmatic policy to mobilise human capital in order to master and drive forward key technologies”.
The ERT advocates for the EU to more than double the Horizon Europe budget to €200bn under FP10 and for member states to prioritise investment in R&I as well.
The report argues that Horizon Europe is a“success”, but if it “has one dark chapter, it is the experience of how opportunities are lost due to tight national purse strings”. So far, due to budget shortages, Horizon Europe has been able to fund only around a third of the high-quality proposals it has received.
The ERT said that “systemically low chances for success lead to frustration and make Europe a less attractive place to study and pursue academic careers when compared to more lavishly funding (and competing) world regions”, letting China and the US take the lead in R&I.
Chair of the ERT’s Committee for Competitiveness and Innovation and chief executive of Syensqo, Ilham Kadri, said: “FP10 is a vital opportunity to further boost research and to scale-up innovation potential by adding elements that are still missing—to help the EU make that leap forward in emerging technologies".
The ERT also calls for technologies that are closer to being market ready to be eligible to apply for some FP10 funding.
Funding tools
The report emphasises that FP10 should build on successes of Horizon Europe, such as the “very powerful” European Research Council, which has proven vital in maintaining world-class science and thus “rather than being disrupted, it should be made even stronger”.
The same applies to the European Innovation Council, which supports scaling up technology and funds deep tech startups.
Considering the success of both these instruments, the ERT argues that the final pillar of Horizon, focused on research to tackle global challenges, should have an Industrial Competitiveness Advisory Council that would set a clear and strategic course.