The European University Association welcomes the European Commission’s Communication on A New European Innovation Agenda, notably as an overarching innovation agenda is needed to tackle specific bottlenecks which stunt Europe’s innovation performance, and to achieve consistency and effective implementation of the various tools available for this purpose.

A European Green Deal that achieves its purpose must be science-driven, with suitable mechanisms for the provision of scientific advice and the boosting of scientific literacy among citizens and policy makers.

EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, during the European Research and Innovation Days in September 2020, stated that excellence and inclusiveness are two sides of the same coin in the new European Research Area (ERA). EUA welcomes the European Commission’s Communication “A new ERA for Research and Innovation” released on 30 September 2020 as a starting point to making this ambition a reality.

As European leaders work towards an agreement on the European Union’s next seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework, and the related Next Generation EU recovery plan to help the EU’s economy back on its feet, EUA and 14 partner university associations reiterate the urgent need to invest in research, innovation and education to achieve long-term, sustainable recovery and strategic resilience.

The European Commission’s new proposal for the next seven-year budget of the European Union together with the Next Generation EU recovery plan falls short of much needed investment in research, innovation and education.

Universities are key players in Europe’s research and innovation landscape. EUA, therefore, welcomes the revival of the European Research Area (ERA), where research-based knowledge is mobilised for a better and more sustainable future. In this EUA position, the Association offers a detailed list of recommendations for the ERA.

Fifteen university associations join together to call for an ambitious long-term EU budget for research, innovation and education to boost efforts to solve the manifold future challenges.

Addressing Europe’s key challenges and ensuring sustainable development requires the EU to have a well-functioning budget and to revisit its investment priorities. Cooperation in research and education is a key facilitator in achieving these goals and should therefore be a top investment priority for the Union in the future. The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP), the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and Erasmus+ (E+) are important tools in channelling such investment, make it available to beneficiaries and provide a framework for cooperation.

As the European Union prepares the next generation of EU funding programmes for the post-2020 period, budget discussions are increasingly geared towards performance, European added value, trust and efficiency.