R&I Days 2024: “We must aim higher for research in Europe” (Marc Lemaître)

"On 01/03/1984, we signed the first grant of the R&I framework programs. Since then, we have received around 800,000 proposals and signed 126,000 grants. We can be proud of what we have accomplished. But we must recognize that we are living in a critical period, and aim higher for our framework program and for research in Europe", declares Marc Lemaître, European DGRI, at the end of the R&I Days on 21/03/2024.

He draws three lessons from these days:
• "the need for an ambitious FP10 with a large budget", when, in Horizon Europe, "more than two out of three high-quality proposals are rejected because the budget is too low. For 2021 and 2022, we would have needed +€34 billion”;
• “Europe must collectively step up its game in R&I”, which “will require structural reforms and increased investment, in Member States and at EU level”, to hope to reach the 3% target of GDP invested in R&D by 2030;
• “R&I is crucial for the success of the European Green Deal”.

Manuel Heitor, chair of Horizon Europe's mid-term review group, recommends putting citizens at the centre and developing…