Europe: an open letter calling for massive support for research and innovation

European research institutions are sounding the alarm. “Europe has lost its leading position in the field of research and innovation. In the various rankings, European universities are in the mid-tier, research and innovation spending in the EU is significantly lower than that of its global competitors, the number of publications with high impact is declining, as is the number of patent applications. Europe is falling behind, and is being overtaken by the USA, China, and others. Overall, Europe is investing too little, and in research and innovation in particular.”, they point out in an open letter published on March 12, calling for a ‘wake-up call’.

The signatories of the open letter base their appeal on the “Align, Act, Accelerate - Research, Technology and Innovation to boost European competitiveness” report, known as the Heitor Report. Drafted by a group of 15 experts in autumn 2024, this report makes recommendations for the next EU research framework program (“FP 10”). It advocates for the establishment of a strong framework program, backed by 220 billion euros in funding for the period 2028-2034. The aim: to counter Europe's declining competitiveness by producing more cutting-edge research and innovation.

“Europe's leading science academies fully support the goals of the Heitor Report and its key demands: It is excellent research which paves the way to a competitive Europe.”, states the open letter signed by the CNRS.

The letter has been sent to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin, the Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva, and the President of the European Council António Costa.

To know more, read the open letter.