Science groups weigh in on Juncker’s spending plan

Germany’s science organisations have spoken out against an EU-wide innovation spending plan that would appropriate funds from Horizon 2020.

On 8 December, the Alliance of Science Organisations said that the EU Investment Programme, thought up by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, must focus on research and innovation activities. Juncker’s plan is to take about €2.7 billion from Horizon 2020, but it is not clear whether the money would be spent on areas other than science and innovation.

The alliance said its members were worried that Juncker’s plan would damage Horizon 2020 programmes such as the European Research Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme for early-career researchers. “Research as a precondition for innovation must be funded publicly, and any cutting of these budgets would definitely result in reductions of the competitiveness of Europe’s research system,” the alliance said in a statement.