Research matters campaign: a role to take in advocacy at national level according to Enrico Letta

"Please do not forget that everything starts and everything ends with the European Council of Ministers and the national fences. So please find a way to use your energies for a national advocacy. Your ministries are, by definition, sensitive to the ground and to the pressure of voters or stakeholders", says Enrico Letta, at an event supporting an increased investment in R&I in Europe, organised in Brussels on 02/10/2024 as part of the ‘Research matters’ campaign.

The former Italian Prime Minister, now dean of IE School, published a report on the single market on 17/04/2024. It advocates notably the addition of a fifth freedom encompassing R&I, data, skills, knowledge and education.

When asked about what needs to be done for a strong European R&I in 2030, he says "scale", which needs the integration of financial markets at the European level. "Please use me as a supporter, and use the report", he asks to the campaign's partners, seeing for the first time a "momentum".

Maria Leptin, ERC president, emphasises the need for freedom and flexibility for researchers but also innovators…