The Commission’s four key priorities for the European Research Area

Blog by Duarte Saldanha, Political Consultant for general affairs

The European Commission has published a new communication on the implementation of the European Research Area (ERA), 4 years after having adopted a Communication entitled “A new ERA for Research and Innovation”. The latter describes a new vision of the ERA based on four pillars:

  • Prioritising investments and reforms
  • Improving access to excellence
  • Translating R&I results into the economy
  • Deepening the ERA

The Commission’s four key priorities explained

With the Communication adopted on Tuesday, 22nd October 2024, the Commission explores the progress achieved in the meantime in these four domains.

On the first priority (prioritising investment and reforms), four years on, the Commission highlights that it has worked closely with Member States to strengthen and align R&I endeavours, be it by way of financial and technical support for structural reforms or exchanges of experience and policy dialogues. On this key area, the communication also details investments made within the framework of the Cohesion Policy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility in R&I. Still, it underlines that the scope for action remains, namely in terms of the EU’s research intensity, which in 2022 amounted to 2.3%, remaining significantly below the 3% target set in the 2021 Pact for Research and Innovation, and well below its international partners.

Coming to the second priority, on improving access to excellence, the document reports that although support provided under Horizon Europe for collaborative projects and mobility schemes such as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) bolstered scientific cooperation networks, more is needed to cut down bureaucracy, better inform researchers of opportunities, and to strengthen and connect the R&I ecosystems of all European countries and regions.

On the need to translate R&I results into the economy, i.e. the third priority, the communication sheds light chiefly on the work of the European Innovation Council (EIC), which has become the largest investor in deep tech in Europe, on the ERA’s framework targeted guidance for the economic exploitation of research results and technology roadmaps, and on industrial partnerships under Horizon Europe to assist innovative companies. Nonetheless, the Commission is clear in stating that “the ERA still faces challenges in translating R&I results into societal impact and economic value and in retaining the latter within the EU”, as the EU presents weaknesses along the whole innovation cycle and in its patterns of sectoral specialisation. Combatting this requires the creation of a better environment in which innovative companies can operate in the EU, the document says.

Deepening the ERA was set as the fourth and final priority. In this regard, the Commission emphasises that the ERA framework has greatly enhanced the working conditions for researchers in the EU, also lauding the efforts undertaken within the context of Horizon Europe in terms of gender equality, research integrity, open science and open data. Still, the document identifies administrative and legal obstacles as issues where progress is necessary, specifically in light of the lack of a level playing field across sectors and countries.

In essence, in this exercise, through which the European executive reiterates its commitment to placing research and innovation at the core of the EU’s growth, the Commission reports successes in the pursuit of a shored-up single market for research and innovation, acknowledging, however the many strands where potential can be tapped in and where room for growth exists.

Image source: Iliana Ivanova LinkedIn