25 Amendments of Matthias ECKE related to 2024/2109(INI)
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas investments in R&D are essential for EU societal progress, innovation and competitiveness; whereas the report on the Future of European Competitiveness (the Draghi report) and the report by the Commission Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe (the Heitor report) recommended a budget for the 10th framework programme for research and innovation (FP10) of EUR 200 billion and EUR 220 billion respectively;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the Letta report proposes the establishment of a “Fifth Freedom” to encompass research, innovation and education as a new dimension of the Single Market as the four original freedoms are fundamentally based on 20th-century theoretical principals.
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the Draghi and the Heitor reports are a wake-up call for Europe to face global competition and the significant rise of Chinese science in recent years; welcomes the higher success rate of HEU compared to Horizon 2020 (H2020); appreciates HEU’s responsiveness in crises, such as COVID-19 and geopolitical challenges, but regrets not only the lack of additional funding but also the continuous funding cuts , which compromises original priorities; notes that national spending for research should not be cut with reference to EU research funding; highlights that a joint effort of European and national funding for research and innovation is needed;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Regrets that there have been negative experiences with the implementation of HEU because the shift from H2020 to HEU has mostly been experienced as an increase in complexity and bureaucracy; underlines that the success rates in some parts of the programme are still so low as to discourage potentially excellent applications;, especially from researchers of research institutions with smaller budgets and SMEs considers that the high cost of strategic planning (due to increased complexity, time and resources invested, as well as slowed-down implementation of the framework programme (FP)) is not compensated by any substantial benefits;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the importance of an agile FP; notes that the Heitor report outlines the importance of responding to the fast-changing field of science and innovation and recommends more self- governance in the FP through the establishment of councils as well as less prescriptive calls; recalls that the Draghi report notes that the current governance of the FP is slow and bureaucratic, that its organisation should be redesigned to be more outcome-based and evaluated by top experts and that the future FP should be governed by people with a proven track record at the frontier of research or innovation; notes that innovative ideas can not always be predicted and programmed and underlines the need for sufficient funding that is not pre-programmed in order to tap the full potential of developing innovation;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is deeply convinced that EU spending on science, research and innovation is the best investment in our common European future and for increasing competitiveness; agrees with Mr Draghi that all public R&D spending in the EU should be better coordinated at EU level and that a reformed and strengthened FP is crucial in achieving this; underlines that, in order to ensure a real added value, R&D spending should also be better coordinated at national level between member states; reiterates that the reformed fiscal rules exclude national co- funding of programmes funded by the Union to be excluded from its scope; calls on the Member States to make fully use of this possibility in order to boost EU research funding.
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is deeply convinced that EU spending on science, research and innovation is the best investment in our common European future and for increasing societal progress and competitiveness; agrees with Mr Draghi that all public R&D spending in the EU should be better coordinated at EU level and that a reformed and strengthened FP is crucial in achieving this;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that administrative simplification stagnated under HEU and might even have reversed, given that transaction costs rose significantly; underlines that simplification must be for the benefit of the applicants;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that a large number of beneficiaries do not consider the introduction of lump-sum funding to be a simplificationthe introduction of lump- sum funding received different assessment from different beneficiaries; also notes that simplification efforts at EU level should be implemented with coherence at national level;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Underlines that research projects funded under Pillar 1 should adhere to the principle of ‘high risk/high gain’; suggests clarifying evaluation criteria to strictly ensure the realization of ‘high risk/high gain’ when evaluating research proposals; observes that ‘high risk’ also means employing new research methods; highlights the need for low-threshold applications in order to attract talent; suggests introducing a new anonymized evaluation method for individual research grants, according to which only research proposals are evaluated without considering the person of the applicant and the research institution s/he belongs to;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Concludes that Pillar 2 remains too complex; believes that the implementation of this pillar should be improved, simplified and streamlined; notes that the number of instruments involved, the unsuccessful implementation of missions, and the many budgetary shifts have resulted in unnecessary complexity which discourages applicants, and especially newcomers, from participating;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recalls that the Commission communication entitled ‘EU Missions two years on: assessment of progress and way forward’ did not positively evaluate missions and concluded that missions had failed on core objectives such as crowding, hence their execution needs to be improved to fully access their potential to contribute to achieving climate-neutral cities by 2030 and on climate change adaptation in extgenernal funding;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that no significant changes have taken place in the implementation of the missions since the publication of the communication; concludes, therefore, that further funding of missions under the 2025, 2026 and 2027 work programmes would not be an effective use of the limited resourceremains availuable to HEU and should therefore be stopped; encourages the Commission to find funding for the continuation of missions in other parts of the EU budget and at national levelbut adjustments of missions need to be made;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Insists that the Commission should reduce the use of lump-sum funding under HEU until there is substantial evidence that lump-sum funding provides a simplification for the beneficiaries over the full life cycle of the project, including the audit, as well as for the programme as a whole, reflected by lower administrative and transaction costs for beneficiaries with lump-sum projects; ; supports the recommendation of the European Court of Auditor11a to define the scope of ex post controls for lump-sum grants; _________________ 11a https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublicatio ns/AIB-2022/AIB-2022_EN.pdf
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point a – point ii
Paragraph 15 – point a – point ii
ii. be less dominated by policy objectivesin line with the general policy objectives defined at EU level;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point a – point iv
Paragraph 15 – point a – point iv
iv. be based on the principle of self- governance, through which top experrecognized specialists from the relevant field can determinethat act in the public interest, excluding any sort of conflict of interest, can advise on how research and innovation can best contribute to the achievement of the policy priorities set by policymakers;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point b
Paragraph 15 – point b
(b) setting up the four councils proposed by the Heitor expert group, composed of eminent experts from the field, to decide that act in the public interest, excluding any sort of conflict of interest, to recommend on the strategic direction of the different parts of FP10, and in particular a European technology and industrial competitiveness council and a European societal challenges council;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point c a (new)
Paragraph 15 – point c a (new)
(ca) establishing an experimental unit to test new programmes and instruments with fast track to funding as recommended by the Heitor report;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recommends that the objective of the part of FP10 on advancing the ERA be to build an excellent, unified ERA; underlines that this requires attracting talent, integrating newcomers, providing access to leading research and technology infrastructures whilst remaining open for excellent research proposals irrespective of the supporting research institution, supporting joint early research programmes with national funders, and developing European universities alliances into European scientific institutes;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Believes that an expanded European Research Council (ERC) and European Innovation Council (EIC) should be at the heart of the part of FP10 dealing with a European competition of ideas and that this part should receive half of the FP10 budget; recommends that these programmes be designed so that they create a European, bottom-up funnel for innovation to develop quickly from fundamental science to innovation scale- up; considers that the EIC can only succeed if it can both offer blended finance as a single project and act with the same speed and agility as private actors on the venture capitalist market through a tailor-made legal entity for implementation; underlines that the strengthened autonomy and self- governance of both the ERC and the EIC are crucial to achieving this; holds the opinion that basic research should go beyond ERC and EIC and that funding basic research must also be considered when tackling the EU’s strategic objectives; is therefore convinced that the ultimate source of innovation is the creation of new information through basic research, which must coexist (with other forms of research) with an emphasis on high-risk breakthrough research and innovation;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Urges the Commission to design the part of FP10 on strategic deployment such that it focuses on a limited number of pan-European research initiatives with 2040 set as the time horizon and which require cross-border collaboration due to the scale and complexity of the issue in question; believes that this part should consider that these initiatives could take the form of societal missions which address socio-economic and/or ecological challenges, technology missions to accelerate the development of strategic technologies in Europe, or joint undertakings to secure joint investments by industry, Member States and the EU to support research-based competitiveness and the resilience of key sectors in the European economy; believes that all of these initiatives should receive a budget of between EUR 2.5 and 5 billion;
Amendment 325 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Reiterates the need for sufficient funding for research projects that address societal challenges and that fall within the area of social sciences;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Calls for making data from FP10 funded projects more accessible in order to maximise the research impact of FP10;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Calls for additional measures to reduce the geographic divide, making the programme more accessible for entities located in low-income countries and promoting interest and capacity for applying to the EIC for companies in less advanced regions.
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)
Paragraph 19 d (new)
19d. Urges the European Commission to increase efforts to boost women's involvement in high-risk innovation by expanding targeted initiatives such as Women TechEU and the Women Leadership Programme.