EU Research & Innovation: Driven by Competitiveness - MCAA Magazine March 2025

The role of Research and Innovation in today’s unpredictable world is more important than ever. Research and Innovation in the EU must be strengthened to maintain quality of life for European citizens and EU’s democratic foundations.

The last European Parliament elections were held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. The elections brought changes at different EU institutions including the European Commission. These changes mean a transition in leadership in the European Commission but also a change in policy priorities.

During this transition time, a series of reports have been published, with the purpose of guiding the future direction of Europe. They all agree on the need to improve Europe’s competitiveness, with Research and Innovation (R&I) as the key enabler.

“Much More Than a Market”: Report by Enrico Letta (Letta, 2024)

“The future of European competitiveness”: Report by Mario Draghi (Draghi, 2024)

Focusing on R&I, the policy cycle of the current framework programme that funds R&I, Horizon Europe (HE), is coming to an end. Planning for the next (10th) framework programme, currently referred to as FP10, is a priority for the new commission. In this context, the European Commission published a report on the interim evaluation of HE:

“Act, Align, Accelerate – Research, Technology and Innovation to boost European competitiveness”, by the independent expert group on the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe (October 2024) chaired by Professor Manuel Heitor (Aerts et al, 2024).

The Letta report contains recommendations for the future of the Single Market. Interestingly, the first aspect this report explores is the addition of a 5th Freedom to the existing four in which the current Single Market framework is rooted into; the free movement of people, goods, services and capital. A 5th Freedom would enhance research, innovation, and education in the Single Market, adapting its needs to the 21st century.

The MCAA will continue advocating for the importance of the MSCA programme while giving suggestions for the improvement of its design and impact

The Draghi report exposes the need for the EU to grow and increase Europe’s productivity to ensure Europeans continue to benefit from Europe’s fundamental values; prosperity, equity, freedom, peace and democracy in a sustainable environment. In order to reignite growth in the EU, the report focuses on 3 areas for action: i) Closing the innovation gap, ii) A joint decarbonisation and competitiveness plan, and iii) Increasing security and reducing dependencies. Closing the innovation gap focuses specifically on advanced technologies. The report recognises EU’s robust scientific position however focuses on how the EU fails to translate it to innovative markets. In this context, the report analyses the weaknesses of the HE programme, recommending a simpler and more impactful design of a EU R&I Framework Programme with an increased funding allocation of EUR 200 billion.

The report from the interim evaluation of HE, on the other hand, is fully focused on recommendations and suggestions to safeguard the EU’s strong scientific position while strengthening Research, Development and Innovation. The report gives extensive background to each of its 12 recommendations. The informally called Heitor’s report suggests delivering European added value through 4 interrelated and interdependent spheres of action, i) Competitive excellence, ii) Industrial competitiveness, iii) Societal challenges and iv) Strong R&I ecosystem. It suggests an increase in budget for the next Framework Programme to EUR 220 billion, exceeding the ambition of the Draghi report. Of special interest is the importance it gives to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme for both strengthening competitive excellence and attracting and retaining talent in Europe.

While the focus on R&I in all three reports is welcomed, there is no competitiveness without talent and without a highly skilled European workforce. The MSCA funds excellent R&I and equips researchers at all stages of their career with new knowledge and skills, through mobility across borders and exposure to different sectors and disciplines. The MSCA helps build Europe’s capacity for R&I through investments in the long-term careers of excellent researchers. Both the Letta and the Heitor’s reports identify the MSCA programme as key for developing and retaining talent in Europe. Both advocate for its expansion and increase in ambition while the Draghi report fails to even mention the MSCA when analysing EU skills and mobility.

The MCAA will continue advocating for the importance of the MSCA programme while giving suggestions for the improvement of its design and impact, such as the ones included in September 2024 position paper MCAA’s Recommendations for the MSCA in FP10 (MCAA, 2024).

References:

Aerts, C., Bjarklev, A., Bredenoord, A., Carrozza, C., Dimitrova, D., Fassmann, H., Ferguson, M., Heitor, M., Kiopa, A., Palm, K., Piotrowski, A., Ryl, I., Schütte, G., Serger, S.S., Vasara, A., (2024) Align, act, accelerate. Research, technology and innovation to boost European competitiveness, European Commission. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/9106236

Draghi, M. (2024) The future of European competitiveness. European Commission.
https://commission.europa.eu/topics/eu-competitiveness/draghi-report_en

Letta E. (2024). Much More Than a Market. Speed, security, solidarity – Empowering the Single
Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens. European Union. https://
www.consilium.europa.eu/media/ny3j24sm/much-more-than-a-market-report-by-enrico-letta.pdf

Marie Curie Alumni Association, (2024). Empowering Innovation: MCAA’s Recommendations for
the MSCA in FP10. MCAA Policy Papers, n. 1/2024. https://zenodo.org/records/13745914

Irene Castellano Pellicena

MCAA Board Member
irene.castellano@mariecuriealumni.eu
@Casiren
irene-castellano-pellicena-87551175