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The ERC is calling for the successor of Horizon Europe to be significantly larger and claims Europe is falling behind in terms of research funding.
The European Research Council (ERC) wants the EU to double the budget for its next big research and innovation funding programme.
The current key funding programme for the EU is Horizon Europe, a seven-year initiative that will run until 2027. With a budget of €95.5bn, it aims to strengthen science and technology in the EU, boost the region’s capacity and competitiveness in innovation, and deliver research projects that serve the EU’s priorities.
The Horizon Europe programme is the successor to Horizon 2020, which ran between 2014 to 2020 and had a budget of nearly €80bn.
In a statement released today (24 January), the ERC is calling for the EU to double the budget for its next research and innovation framework programme and said this investment will be “crucial” for Europe’s competitive edge in global science and technology.
The public body said Europe has the talent to be “world leading” in these sectors but that it is struggling to keep up with competitors in terms of research funding. The ERC also claimed Europe is struggling in terms of high-quality scientific output – “especially in new and emerging fields” – and that Europe’s industry is not specialised in “the fastest growing sectors”.
“These issues are linked as Europe cannot hope to be a leader in industry without being a leader in science and technology,” the ERC said. “If these trends continue, they will increasingly undermine Europe’s economy, competitiveness and social model as well as ultimately threaten its standing in the world, strategic autonomy and security.”
The ERC said the EU should focus on strengthening the public body in the next research framework programme and said it provides a “benchmark for excellence in European science”.
“The ERC has demonstrated the amazing creativity and talent of Europe’s best researchers when they are given the freedom to propose their best ideas,” the organisation said. “Between them, ERC grantees have won 14 Nobel Prizes, six Fields Medals, 11 Wolf Prizes and many other prizes.”
Various Irish researchers have received funding from the ERC over the years. For example, the ERC announced 102 new proof-of-concept grants for European researchers last week, bringing the total number of awardees from last year’s competition rounds to 240.
Prof Conor Buckley of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) was among the latest batch of award recipients. His research is focused on biomaterials (namely collagen and chondroitin sulfate) and cell-based strategies for tissue regeneration.
In July of last year, Dr Daniel Kelly of TCD, Dr Martin O’Halloran of the University of Galway and Dr Dimitrios Zeugolis of University College Dublin were each awarded ERC proof-of-concept funding for their projects.
Meanwhile, seven Irish researchers were chosen last November to receive millions from the ERC in Consolidator Grants.
“The ERC’s current budget is about €2bn annually, but for the ERC to meet its full potential and for its systemic effects to be felt throughout Europe, it was estimated in 2003 that it would need a budget corresponding to 5pc of Europe’s national research agencies, now equivalent to around €5bn per year. This still holds true today,” the ERC said.
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