Framework budget should be doubled, think tank says

An Austrian think tank has called for a near doubling of the budget for the next EU research and innovation Framework programme, in light of the societal challenges Europe is facing.

The budget for Framework 9 should be about €130 billion—€55bn more than for Horizon 2020—to address challenges in security, migration, energy, health, climate change and employment, a paper by the ‘Austrian FP9 Think Tank’ has said.

The recommendation came despite an acknowledgement that the UK is set to leave the EU, and that national budgets for research and innovation are already stretched. The increase is justified by the urgency of Europe’s challenges, as well as increased competition in research and innovation from other parts of the world, the think tank said.