ERC should be consulted on Juncker plan, say groups

Europe’s academies have called for researchers to become more involved in the Juncker plan, which proposes to divert funding from Horizon 2020 into an investment pot.

The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities has proposed for the president of the European Research Council and its scientific council to be more involved in the decision-making process of implementing the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker’s plan for an economic stimulus package to boost jobs and growth  would take €2.7 billion from Horizon 2020., and several researcher organisations have expressed concern that researchers will not be able to benefit from the fund. 

To ensure that researchers get their fair share of the investment package, Allea proposed that one of the EFSI priorities should be excellent research. “With excellence in research being one EFSI priority, it is clear that the ERC should be fully involved in selecting successful projects and in delivering the funding granted,” the group said. Other priorities that Allea proposes are education and training initiatives, move to a low carbon economy, sustainable infrastructure, and SME risk-financing.