Joint statement by the European Research Council and the European Innovation Council
We are delighted with the broad European consensus that has emerged over the past year on the strategic role of research and innovation (R&I) for Europe’s competitiveness; from the Mario Draghi report and the European Commission Political Guidelines to the report on the independent expert group chaired by Manuel Heitor, the Warsaw Declaration and the European Parliament resolution, presented by MEP Christian Ehler. All highlighted the crucial role of the the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Innovation Council (EIC). We are pleased that our efforts to serve our respective communities are recognised.
The EIC and the ERC have well-aligned systems and have built bridges between their respective funding schemes. The high number of ERC Proof of Concept projects amongst the winners of EIC Transition grants bears witness to this. Many ERC grantees have successfully scaled up their start-ups with EIC Accelerator funding.
The ERC and the EIC, each with their own unique objectives, therefore offer complementary support to the European research and innovation ecosystem. The mission of the ERC is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe across all fields, based on scientific excellence, for the sake of furthering human knowledge. The role of the EIC is to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and innovations, whether they originate from the ERC, other parts of the framework programme or from regional or national funding programmes. This diversity is one of Europe’s strengths and should be reinforced.
It is also vital that the budgets for the EIC and the ERC be increased to ensure substantial, attractive funding and more reasonable success rates for applicants. These budgets must be ringfenced in future EU R&I framework programme (FP10), even if included in an envisaged Competitiveness Fund. It is also vital for both the ERC and the EIC to have a clear mandate, independence and agility in governance and operations to maintain the highest standards of tailored support to Europe’s deep-tech start-ups and excellent researchers.
We remain fully committed to ensure that the EIC and the ERC support the best European talent. We look forward to harvesting the benefits of further cooperation to reinforce this shared community. To make Europe competitive, we must continue to ensure that excellent, ground-breaking scientific discoveries translate into marketable and impactful innovations. Frontier research and innovation are essential for a prosperous future for Europe.
