Double success rate or next Framework will die, MEP says

MEP Christian Ehler says the EU’s next R&D Framework programme needs more funds and a higher success rate, and should strive to close the innovation gap between old and new member states.

“The number one priority is the money,” said Ehler, who leads on Horizon 2020 for the European Parliament, at the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations’ (Earto) annual conference in Oslo. He said it is likely the next Framework Programme will have a budget of €100 billion or more.

This would give about €18 billion of “flexibility”, which should be spent on funding a greater proportion of excellent projects, bringing the success rate up to about 20 per cent, said Ehler, who is a German MEP for the conservative European People’s Party.