43 Amendments of Maria da Graça CARVALHO related to 2011/2107(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph - 1 (new)
Paragraph - 1 (new)
-1. Underlines that the aim of the Common Strategic Framework is to cover all relevant EU research and innovation funding currently provided through FP7, CIP and EU initiatives such as EIT on the basis of coherent goals and shared strategic objectives;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that the Structural and Cohesion Funds canshould complement EU research and innovation funds but cannot replace them, and, because the principal aims of the respective funds differ, they should continue to be separate during the future multi-annual financial framework (MFF) while creating greater synergies between them;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)
Citation 11 a (new)
- having regard to the motion for resolution B7-0343/2011 on the celebration of the centenary of the Nobel Prize award to Marie Sklodowska-Curie,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU has established the objective of increasing spending on R&D to reach 3 % of EU GDP by 2020, however the overriding objective is to stimulate innovation and growth and to meet Europe's societal challenges, in particular stimulating and encouraging private investment in R&D,
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the Commission's proposals on extending the use of innovative financial instruments to strengthen the leverage of the EU budget while fully respecting the rights of the budgetary and discharge authorities; asks the Commission to improve access for primary target groups such as SMEs; demands that any SME-specific bankaction should function under the umbrella of the EIB; expresses its reservations about so-called ‘soft loans’ blurring the distinction between grants and loans;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that a risk-averse culture of EU research funding would prevent financing of high-risk research ideas with the greatest potential for breakthroughs, and therefore advocates a trust-based approach with higher tolerance for risk and failure – involving, for example, more frequent use of prizes the use of prizes without substituting properly structured funding – in preference to a purely results- based approach, which is at odds with the very nature of innovative scientific research;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is convinced that horizontal simplification activities throughout all research and innovation programmes should be one of the highest priorities for the new programme period together with measures to ensure flexibility, and draws attention to the important decisions on simplification to be taken in the ongoing procedure of revising the Financial Regulation, on issues including simplifying the rules on pre-financing and on eligibility of costs and increasing the scope for awarding research prizes; emphasises the need for further simplification of application procedures and control mechanisms, for the benefit of applicants to European research and innovation programmes;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Asks the Commission to build ‘stairways to excellence’ for all potential research and innovation players in those Member States with a low rate of participation in FP 7, including by encouraging more effective use of the Structural and Cohesion Funds in this respect; underlines the importance of trans-national cooperation through collaborative projects and stresses the need to develop dedicated actions to foster excellence across Europe;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Reiterates its position that, with regard to the MFF post-2013, the financial resources dedicated to large-scale projects such as ITER and Galileo should be fixed for the whole programming period and ring-fenced so, in order to ensure their planning continuity and organisation stability; believes that any cost overrun must be financed with fresh money through employing budgetary flexibility, as opposed to the redeployment of funds at the expense of other programmes such assmaller successful programmes like in the fields of research and innovation;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas other regions and countries of the world are increasingly investing in R&D&I, and whereas EU investment in this domain should therefore be oriented towards a reinforcement of scientific capacitencouraging investment by industry and an improvement in overall EU competitive capacity,
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Strongly supports a further substantial increase in the EU's annual budgets for research and innovation, as these have been proven to deliver excellent European added value and to aid recovery from the economic crisis; emphasises that the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs, adopted by the Council, clearly states the need for additional funds for research and innovation.
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. stresses the importance to further promote the complementarity between EU and national R&D funding; in this regard, calls for greater coordination at EU and the national level, through enhanced joint programming efforts, agreed common standards, and faster, more flexible and simpler instruments to allow co-funding;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the great importance of SMEs for the EU economy and employment is not mirrored in their level of access to EU R&D&I fundsparticipation in EU R&D&I funds, recognises that collaborative work with industry has encouraged significant investment in R&D&I by industry,
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls for a concerted public and private effort at European and national levels to reach the Europe 2020 target of 3 % of gross domestic product (GDP) expenditure on R&D, to achieve the creation of the European Research Area and of an ‘Innovation Union’; calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to agree without further delay on a specific roadmap for achieving this target, and points to the massive economic commitment that this target would entail, amounting to around 130 billion Euro annually for both the EU and national budgets and twice as much for the private sector;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Draws attention to the importance of maintaining convergence policies, and asks the Commission to build stairways to excellence for those MS and regions that are underrepresented in the FP by developing appropriate instruments to intensify cooperation between MS with a strong participation and those with a weaker participation, and to substantially increase human capacity building and infrastructure in the latter; takes the view that Structural Funds should be deployed to their full extent to support capacity building in the regions through dedicated activities aimed at founding centres of excellences, modernising universities, purchase of scientific equipment, local technology transfer, support to start-ups and spin-offs, and local interaction between industry and academia; believes that this will allow a stairway of excellence to be developed, leading these regions to fully participate in the Common Strategic Framework for Research and Innovation, based on quality and excellence;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls that although excellence is considered the main general criterion for funding, it must be borne in mind that the nature of excellence differs with the type of participant or the very nature of the research and innovation project (the excellence criterion for a research institution is not the same as for an individual researcher or for an SME, and also differs between fundamental and applied projects)Is convinced that the principle of excellence within the European research area remains the basis for the future competitiveness of Europe; recalls that the nature of excellence differs with the type of participant or the very nature of the research and innovation project; is convinced that cohesion instruments, such as structural funds, should strengthen the development of excellence and capacity building by a better compatibility with research and innovation at regional level;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for a better articulation between local and regional, national and European research and innovation strategies, respecting the specificities of the different contexts and, at the same time, reinforcing the possibilities for complementarity and cooperation between them; calls for faster, more flexible and simpler instruments to allow co-funding of projects by the Commission and Member States; believes that sharing information and results is of key importance here;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for a better articulation between local and regional, national and European research and innovation strategies, respecting the specificities of the different contexts and, at the same time, reinforcing the possibilities for complementarity and cooperation between them; believes that cooperation and sharing of information and results isare of key importance hereto increasing the effectiveness of funding;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recommends that national and regional funds should contribute to the funding of ERC, Marie Curie or collaborative projects that meet the criteria of excellence but cannot be funded due to lack of European funds;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Recommends that the Commission analyses the possibility of setting up an all-European common fund financed by the Structural Funds to promote collaborative European research;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is convinced that different tasks within the CSF should be tackled separately but in close articulationrelationship with each other: the European Institute of Technology (EIT) to operate mainly as a network of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) to concentrate on its strength in supporting innovative SMEs and therefore not necessarily to be included in the next FP; the next FP to embrace research as a whole; and the structural/cohesion funds to be used in closer cooperation but kept separate; takes the view that collaborative projects should remain the backbone of the CSF;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is convinced that the Framework Programme is at the heart of the CSF and yet different tasks within the CSF should be tackled separately but in close particulationnership: the European Institute of Technology (EIT) to operate mainly as a network of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) to concentrate on its strength in supporting innovative SMEs and therefore not necessarily to be included in the next FP; the next FP to embrace research as a whole; and the structural/cohesion funds to be used in closer cooperation but kept separate;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for clarification, simplification and reorganisation of the different EU programmes and instruments in existence, for a clear definition of the overall funding system, and for the EU research and innovation programmes budget for the next financial period to be doubled as of 2014 (excluding the budget devoted to Structural Funds and the EIB) as the appropriate response to the current economic crisis and to the great shared challenges; suggests, therefore, a new organisational model based on three different layers of funding aimed at stability and convergence:; recalls that standardization should be taken into account in addressing grand challenges and shaping priority areas of the CSF, but should not be a new separate instrument or activity;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls for a clarification, simplification and reorganisation of the different EU programmes and instruments in existence; believes that a radical overhaul of the administration of the FP is one of the highest priorities to be tackled in designing the forthcoming CSF; invites the Commission to assess the effectiveness of each individual instrument, within each programme, towards the achievement of specific policy goals; calls for a reduction in the diversity of instruments whenever effectiveness or distinctive contribution is not clearly demonstrated;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. The funding scheme within this layer includes the funding provided through the EIT, the part of the FP concerning the Capacities Programme and Marie Curie initiatives, the European funding components of large-scale projects, access to loans by the EIB (covering projects over EUR 50 million), grants associated with the above-mentioned components of the FP, and cooperation with Structural Funds associated with infrastructure;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. The funding scheme within this layer includes the funding provided through the EIT, the part of the FP concerning the Capacities Programme and Marie Curie initiatives, the European funding components of large-scale research infrastructures and projects, access to loans by the EIB (covering projects over EUR 50 million), grants associated with the above-mentioned components of the FP, and cooperation with Structural Funds associated with infrastructure;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. This layer is the space for overall research, fundamental and applied, and social sciences and humanities; coordination participants are universities and research centres/institutes, althoughnd the industrial sector should be encouraged to participate;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. The key words here are originality, quality and potential for excellence and added - value of projects, and not only the possible marketed results;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that the European Research Council (ERC) has proved to be successful and a strengthening element of the European Research Area (ERA); stresses the need to increase the proportion of the budget dedicated to grants both to young and female researchers, as well to strengthen Marie Curie actions and initiatives, thus reinforcing mobility; calls for the implementation of the necessary measures to cope with the precarious conditions of scientific workers in the EU as a means to attract and retain researchers, bearing in mind that precarious working conditions (which are still more prevalent for women) constitute a bottleneck on the way to achieving excellence in Europe;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. This layer is the space for marketing of products and services and generation of public wealth; industry, including innovative SMEs, plays a pivotal role here in developing novel products and services;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. This layer is the space for marketing of products and services and generation of public wealth; innovative SMEs play a pivotal role here in developing and bringing to market novel products and services;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Recognises that particular attention should be devoted to SMEs’ involvement, in order to enable the exploitation of new ideas and opportunities in a flexible and effective way as they emerge, opening new avenues for innovation; stresses that a sector-specific definition of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is a prerequisite for their successful participation in the CSF; recalls that heavy administrative burdens lead to a decrease in participation of SME;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. The funding scheme within this layer is covered by EU funding associated with CIP, access to credit enhancement by the EIF and specific loans from the EIB (mainly covering projects under EUR 50 million), and cooperation with the Structural Funds associated with entrepreneurship; additionally, suggests the creation of a new funding instrument – the EU SME Bank – which should act in articulation with national contact points and financial institutions designated by the MSrecalls that the Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF) has proven itself successfully as an instrument for innovation financing; believes that the RSFF should further be applied in such a way that a granting of funds at a small level is possible via national intermediates;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. The funding scheme within this layer is covered by EU funding provided through the EIT, funding associated with CIP, access to credit enhancement by the EIF and specific loans from the EIB (mainly covering projects under EUR 50 million), and cooperation with the Structural Funds associated with entrepreneurship; additionally, suggests the creation of a new funding instrument – the EU SME Bank – which should act in articulation with national contact points and financial institutions designated by the MS;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Believes that the ERA would greatly benefit from the creation of an EU SME Investment BankSME- specific action under the umbrella of EIB in order to reinforce the EU's innovation policy covering the missing link: the weak participation of SMEs in EU programmes;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Believes that the management of European research funding should be more trust-based and risk-tolerant towards participants; recommends broader acceptance of usual accounting practices for the eligible costs; is of the opinion that lump sums and flat rates should be used on a voluntary basis; calls on the Commission to shorten time-to- contract to maximum 6 months; stresses the need for simplification of the application and contractual procedures; recommends a reduced set of rules and common principles for funding to govern EU funding for R&D;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24b. Is convinced that simplification should lead to a reduction of the combination of funding rates and indirect costs calculation methods across financing schemes; stresses, however, that the funding rates and indirect costs calculation models should be different for universities, research organizations and industry;
Amendment 339 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls for consolidation of multidisciplinary research and recognition of the social dimension of research; in this context, recalls that great societal challenges (such as climate change, demographic ageing, food, water and energy security, and resources sustainability) cannot be dealt with only through technological responses and that therefore European research in social sciences and humanities is a pivotal asset in successfully addressing them;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls for a balance to be kept between bottom-up (cooperative) and top-down projects (’great societal challenges’), as well as for smaller bottom-up projects to be facilitatedand bottom-up collaborative research to be facilitated; takes the view that lower entry barriers for cooperation projects would lead to a reinforcement of scientific capacity;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Reminds that the balance between bottom-up and top-down projects would enable the maintenance both of curiosity- driven research (also open to the unexpected) and the definition of key political priorities such as research and innovation dedicated to the sea and to sustainable agriculture and fisheries, thus creating the conditions to combine strategic priorities with emerging problems;
Amendment 367 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Calls for a coherent coverage of the full R&D&I chain though the implementation of transparency rules and a clear coordination between the different Commission DGs dealing with research and innovation funding;
Amendment 369 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls for an intensification of international cooperation through effective reinforcement of capacity building and the establishment of fair partnerships with developing countries in order better to tackle global challengeswith the strategic partners of the European Union in order better to tackle global challenges; recalls that an intensification of international cooperation is only effective when procedures are simplified and lead times for permit applications are significantly shortened;