During the plenary session (26-29 April 2021) in the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs debate on research and innovation. Opening statements by the rapporteurs Marc BOTENGA - Establishing Horizon Europe – laying down its rules for participation and dissemination; Christian EHLER (EPP, DE) - Specific Programme implementing Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation; Marisa MATIAS (The Left, PT) - European Institute of Innovation and Technology; Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT) - Strategic Innovation Agenda of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology; and by Mariya GABRIEL, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. This transcription speech is the result of an automatic process. Check against delivery.

Brussels

statement

plenary session

GABRIEL, Mariya (EPP, BG, EC)

joint debate

MATIAS, Marisa (The Left, PT)

EHLER, Christian (EPP, DE)

CARVALHO, Maria da Graça (EPP, PT)

EU Research and innovation (T)

horizon europe (T)

BOTENGA, Marc (The Left, BE)

Joint debate on research and innovation: opening statements by the rapporteurs and by Mariya GABRIEL, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth

SOUNDBITE (English), Lina G&Aacute;LVEZ MU&Ntilde;OZ (S&amp;D,ES), rapporteur, Thank you, President. I would like to say some words on behalf of the rapporteur for the regulation establishing Horizon Europe. Dear Commissioner Gabriel, thank you for being present in this extraordinary circumstances. The discussion of Horizon Europe, the Future Research and Innovation Framework Programme Horizon Europe must be clear, simple and fast paced programme ambitious enough to meet the challenges facing the union, the covid-19 pandemic confirmed and the need to invest more in R and I.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, Even before this pandemic, the European Parliament has always insisted on ambitious investments in research and innovation. Today, I can proudly say that through persistent, we have ensured budgetary stability and predictability in order to have the Horizon Europe programme that will deliver on future challenges with the budget of nineteen point five billion euro. We have delivered the most powerful research and innovation programme of the world, even if the amount is still below the 120 billion euro.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, The European Parliament asked for horseshoeing or will help you adapt to the future. Supported the health system. Prepare for future pandemics, its industry to decarbonise, its businesses to innovate. And you will support European researchers and harnessing their talents and progress in digital and industrial technologies. According to the Commission, each year it invested in the programme can potentially generate up to 11 euro GDP over twenty five years.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, Money challenge through the Horizon 2020. How finding a vaccine against covid-19 to support research and innovation projects to tackle many aspects of the pandemic. Europe will never be economically Wolfen or saved without substantial financing for its basic and applied research and without adequate financing and coordination on the health dimension. My calling upon the member states is to increase to three percent their investment in research and innovation not despite, but in particular because of the economic crisis horizon.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, Europe is open to the world and I see your research as a bridge between the union and our international partners. However, we need to ensure reciprocity and open doors on both sides of the bridge in order to have people crossing in trust as researchers are at the core of finding solutions for future challenges. The significant reduction of the research and innovation gap at the union level by increasing the geographical balance in Horizon, Europe will maximise the union's potential for research and innovation.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, I emphasise that the principle of excellence remains the basic principles in the selection of all projects. But excellence must be supported and promoted throughout the union. A key element of the new programme is that at least three five percent of the total budget will be allocated to support the European Union's climate objectives.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, The instrument for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises is a strength, and the new instrument, such as the European Innovation Council and Missions, will increase the competitiveness of the European Union and will produce tangible results for all European citizens. Moreover, efforts should be undertaken to achieve better synergies between the activities of different European and national instruments for R&D and innovation, which may provide complementary sources of funding. I would like to encourage member states to use the seal of excellence opportunity within the recovery and resilience.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, Final remarks. The Rapporteur Dannica would like to underline the excellent cooperation with the Commission on the presidencies under which the programme was negotiated, namely, Romania and German presidency now would like to refer to the files from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, and I will switch to Spanish, for which I have had the honour of being the shadow rapporteur for both sides.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, I therefore thank the excellent work and collaboration with Marisa Mathias and Maria Value, the rapporteurs and the Parliament's staff, who did excellent work in difficult circumstances. Despite that, we've got a very positive agreement. And so I thank the commission and council for their flexibility.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, This. Statute is a key element. It can contribute to dealing with the major social challenges such as the energy transition, digitalisation, sustainable change and health challenges, we have worked very hard in order to increase geographical involvement and the participation of different regions and countries. We are going to continue to ensure greater equality of opportunity and stepping up the gender dimension. The debate we've had shows that we still have a long way to go with this institute and with this file and us.

SOUNDBITE (English),  Lina GÁLVEZ MUÑOZ (S&D,ES), rapporteur, We want to bridge the gap so that we can make the most of our knowledge in Europe, we have to make the most of the so-called Triangle of knowledge, working together with allies in Europe and making people really at the centre of this.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), Madam President, dear colleagues, Commissioner Gabriel, today we're doing nothing less than adopting the largest, most ambitious research vehicle. I am going to come out of it. It's the most important civilian research programme in the world, the largest amount of funding we've ever seen for digital innovation in Europe, 35 percent of the budget will be for fighting climate change. We have fully no new, completely new instruments to use. And we're going to have with innovation, we have the European Innovation Council.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), This is an instrument which will have helping the new up generation, connecting both of these. We have completely new topics included. We're acknowledging the creative economy of artists and digital creative creators, and the importance of that for climate change cannot be underestimated. We have initiatives, as Mrs. von der LEYEN have mentioned, with the new Ballhaus. Those have been picked up as well. So instead of having a climate dystopia, we're having a utopia.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), So this reflects the green deal, the the economic potential which will achieve with fighting climate change nonetheless. And of course, with politics this day, the glass is half full and half empty. Ten years ago, the member states have said that they would give three percent of the GDP in the EU for research and development and we are not going to reach it with this programme. This is not an abstract objective. Rather, we have to look at the competitive situation in the world.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), The United States is invest more than three percent in research. China, five percent is real, five percent, Korea four point six percent. Even the average of all EU countries is higher than the average of research investment in the EU. So we have to say that, of course, that has an impact on the programme. It's a very attractive programme. It's a successful programme for the European single market for our competitive potential.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), However, what we have to look and explain is that those who wish to participate in this programme have to face reality, that in the ICT area we have nine percent of the applications can be bio biochemistry is only eight percent. And in other four fields of science, it's only seven percent. In other words, we have enormous need for innovation in Europe and we're facing nothing less than a transformation of our society in 2030.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), We want to have the 50 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. Well, that means that we have in 10 years we have to develop. Technology does not yet exist. We have to bring it to maturity and we have to introduce it in the European single market. So I think it's going to be clear on the one hand of this in this programme, the ambitions that we had concerning development and innovation, of course, this exceeds it.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), However, we face such large challenges that the kind of discussion we've had in past three years through three presidencies, the Romanian, the Portuguese and the German presidencies and two commissioners. I would also mention Christmas and Maria Gabriele. And we've also had a parliament that could not come further than this. Why? Because the council has completely lost its ambition. And I think we need to go beyond that.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), We have to go beyond that in the parliament, beyond the party line, the party lines. Without this parliament, we would have been much further behind in terms of ambition. So I'd like to thank many of my colleagues, the rapporteurs, Mr Nikke, for the excellent cooperation. I think what we've done here is really rescued the ambition of Europe via the parliament. And I think we have to look forward now and say what's going to happen.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), We have new challenges, which are all challenges for the first time in twenty years. We have to talk about the freedom of research in Europe. There are questions in member states where this has been questioned. We also have to address the European research area. We've been discussing this for 20 years.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), We haven't really made progress on this and then with the commission and the council, we have to go further with this and also the civil society has to be included in order to engage them in this project without having a common European research policy, which is going to have the privileges for very few people who can invest a lot of money. And then all of the people we have to we're all going to be affected by climate change, digitalisation, and we all have to address these challenges.

SOUNDBITE (German), Christian EHLER (EPP, DE), So for that reason, today is the day to be proud. It's a day to be proud of our parliament. It's time to say thank you to the commissioners. But it's also the day to look into the future and say it's not going to be enough in the coming 10 years. We have to have transformation, genuine transformation. There's going to be innovation and technology. And so during this legislative term, we have to see how we're going to find more funds and more ambition. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), Yes, thank you very much, dear colleagues. Unfortunately, Marisa Matias rapporteur for the report on the European Institute of Innovation and Technology is in of isolation due to a risk contact. And she can therefore not attend the debate physically. But she's, of course, with us at a distance on her behalf. Let me first thank all shadow rapporteurs, the members of the Secretariat, Technical Services, staff members and all parliamentary assistants, of course, involved German and Portuguese presidencies of the council.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), And in particular, I laid a on this Anna Gonzalez and Sofia Santos for all their work support. And of course, Grushecky. Well, for the good cooperation. Now, it has been said the outcome of this package is, of course, the result of a compromise. But let us emphasise, first of all, some of the important achievements for us. We will devote 35 percent of funding to climate transition related research and innovation.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), We will keep an autonomous fund for the social sciences and humanities. And it's contrary to the initial proposal tabled by the European Commission. We will also have a better distribution of the funds overall European countries. We have a better promotion of gender balance. Funds for health research are increased. And then, of course, there is the part on the exclusion of direct defence research from the programme.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), Now, as for the regulation for which Murry's Ahmeti, as was rapporteur regarding the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, she wishes to highlight the approval of funds for two new areas, cultural and creative sectors on the one hand and water and oceans on the other hand. There's also the big increase in transparency in the process, and we know how important that is, as well as better guarantees for the workers by giving them proper contracts.

paragraph-27 And it is quite symbolic that the last point agreed with the Council was exactly related to the duration of their contracts. Now allow me to say a few other words as well, and I will switch to Dutch. Not just lacson under Zook's budget. Well, the fact that we have managed to avoid reducing the research budget is a success. However, there is a whole series of caveats. We are financing development and research and we are improving public credibility.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), This is all very good. But but often it is multinationals who decide what is or isn't being financed. And sometimes that has rather dramatic consequences. There were there was reluctance, if not a veto imposed on the commission in twenty, seventeen, twenty eighteen. When they launched an initiative for innovative medicines, they wanted to invest more in epidemiological research. So pandemics, basically, it would have been a good idea.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), It would have helped society, but it wasn't profitable and industry didn't want to do it. And in the framework of a public private partnership, businesses were. I had a co decision in the use of taxpayer money. If businesses had been able to accept the proposals would have been able to limit the pandemic. So we have to really look at what businesses are doing with public money. The big pharma companies, it's almost like fintech companies really.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), They often have a very short term vision looking at profits for shareholders rather than benefit for society. We know that the system often ignores the illnesses that won't be profitable or illnesses that only affect developing countries, 10 percent of research funding is destiny is focussed on illnesses affecting developing countries, whereas in fact, 90 percent of these illnesses are in developing countries.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), We can't allow Prophet to dictate everything in the 50s for one billion dollars, you got 50 new medicines for the same amount. Today, you don't get a single medicine getting to market. So we're seeing a significant drop in productivity and innovation. However, many that Big Pharma makes goes to the pockets of shareholders. These businesses are often privatised. Now, we can sponsor research with public money, but the product that comes out of this is a monopoly in the hands of the businesses. It means that they own these products and we sell them for huge amounts.

SOUNDBITE (English), Marc BOTENGA (The Left, BE), They won't agree to work in a joint fashion on their products. Now we have to think about what this means for society. Think about the Covid 19 vaccines. We're paying two or three times what we were at the beginning and it's not even our property. So I think for public money, we need to have public scrutiny and public control of public funds. There's a citizens' initiative called No Profit on Pandemic, and I think that should lay the basis for future research to ensure that public health is the priority rather than profits.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), Roberta Metsola, dear president, dear Maria Gabriel, commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, honourable MEPs, science is the future of Europe. This week we've reached a long legislative process. Along the end of a long legislative process, we're approving new instruments that will allow the scientific and research community to put their. Projects on the rails that will ensure our competitiveness and will contribute to health and the quality of life of everyone.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), Horizon Europe is the biggest scientific research and investment programme in the world. Its predecessor, Horizon 2020, was already a crucial instrument for Europe's well-being. And it's important to point out that a research programme that led to one of the Covid 19 vaccines was financed through that previous programme. That's just one example of the key role that Horizon has played.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), The new framework programme will contribute to the recovery in Europe, to the economic recovery, to jobs and to green and digital challenges. The programme will be key in making our economies more resilient and in bringing science forward, particularly in the areas of health, the environment and climate change. Thanks to the long, arduous battle that the parliament has been involved in, this programme will have the biggest budget ever, boasting ninety five point five billion euros in total.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), The European Institute for Innovation and Technology will have a budget of almost three billion euros, and it's a key part of her eyes in Europe. It's the only EU instrument that covers the whole knowledge triangle education, scientific research and innovation. Today, there's another in another part of that triangle culture. I was proud to be the rapporteur on the strategic innovation agenda of EIT after six months of collective work. We can claim we can state that we are going to improve investigation and research in Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), The EIT, the European Institute for Innovation and Technology will be more dynamic, simplified, open and transparent. We're putting forward a package of measures that will make the EIT flexible and nimble so that it can better deal with crises such as the one we're fighting with so they could be economic crises or health crises. We've also put forward a regional. Innovation scheme, that means that a large amount of its budget will go to specific regional development.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), We've also created the budgetary conditions to ensure that there is a better geographical balance of activities covering the whole of Europe. In the same way, we have put forward measures which will allow synergies with regional funds, and they are EIF and synergies with other funds and instruments such as the European investment banks funds. We firmly believe that the changes we've made will make the EIT a driver for growth and for job creation.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), It will also help companies, particularly SMEs, in addition to the existing communities that already exist under the Ayittey in the future, the Ayittey will establish a new community on the cultural and creative industries, and there will be another on maritime and marine ecosystems. These new communities, these two new communities that are also known as KCS, were one of the major achievements of the European Parliament during the negotiations.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), Culture is so important. It's part of Europe's identity. Culture has contributed a lot to employment and the economy, but culture was one of the sectors that was hardest hit by the current crisis. Water, meanwhile, is one of the biggest challenges of the near future. Water availability, water quality, the blue economy. Oceans and all ocean issues, rivers, all of those issues will be covered by the new kick on water that we have managed to negotiate and that exist under the EIT.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), Now, we should be satisfied with the outcome of our work horizon Europe, and it will be decisive. And our collective efforts will help to relaunch our economies, helping to lift them out of the current crisis. I thank everyone who did their bit. That includes the staff from the parliament, secretariats, the assistants, the advisors. I want to thank in particular Maries Amethysts, who was the rapporteur on and on another AIG file.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Maria da Graça CARVALHO (EPP, PT), I want to thank all the shadow rapporteurs. I want to thank Maria Gabriel, our commissioner. I want to thank everyone for the spirit of collaboration and cooperation. And I want to thank the German and Portuguese presidency who guided this text until we reached the text that we're going to vote on tomorrow.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Thank you, President, ladies and gentlemen, members of parliament, first of all, it's an honour and a pleasure to be here with you today for this debate that precedes the formal adoption of Horizon Europe and the European Innovation and Technology Institute and its strategic innovation programme. I'd like to start by thanking you, by thanking the rapporteurs Cristian Ehler, as well as Maria da graca Carvalho and Marisa Matias for and all of the shadows and members of the committee for the very hard work. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Thank you for having ambitions from the very beginning. And we will make sure that your ambitions are achieved. Where are we now? We are at a time where negotiations have allowed us to improve and enrich the legislative proposals. And so today it is with great satisfaction and confidence that I stand before you. Now, I'm not complacent. I know that efforts will be required in the future. The starting point is also the finishing point of our negotiations.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, We have a budget of over 95 million euros and that is a 30 percent increase on Horizon 2020. And we have transnational research and innovation plans which are the most ambitious in the world. Currently, the Horizon Europe programme that we have is structured around three pillars and we need all three of these pillars. The first is significant support for basic research. We need our European Research Council, which has become a global reference point.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, We need to support our researchers and the Marie Curie programme not just for mobility, but also to ensure that becoming a researcher is more attractive as a career. And the second pillar Covid partnerships and new missions. And the third pillar is dedicated entirely to innovation with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and the European Innovation Council.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, And the strong message to sending out is that the structure of the Horizon programme itself sends out this message. We need innovation in Europe and the Horizon Europe programme itself is innovative and its instruments have new approaches that we can deploy right away through our missions, through our partnerships, or with the European Innovation Council. Now, of course, as a fourth component, which is just as important, and that will set out a whole range of measures to encourage European cohesion in research and innovation.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, And we have here the partnerships and missions. The missions represent a new tool for innovation and research. We have ambitious and measurable objectives and will allow us to have a project portfolio in order to ensure that the final product is greater than the sum of the individual projects. And we've able to do that thanks to the feedback from the member states and the parliament.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, We have a more strategic approach and one which will encourage more participation from the public and private sectors and will meet targeted technological needs, particularly energy, health, biodiversity and food. And one of the lessons that we have to learn from the current crisis is that the European Union has to invest in its innovative capacity if it wants to be able to face future challenges with confidence.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, And that's why we have the European Innovation Council. Now it's going to support our start-ups SMEs, the spinal column of our economy. It will also be able to use mixed financing involving subsidies or investments. And we're able to ensure that the European Investment Council is the European unicorn factory. We have to be able to overcome our problems and in order to accelerate our transition towards a green and digital economy, then it's the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, They are going to be playing a ambitious role within Horizon Europe, and they needed this modified regulation. Its missions and objectives have to be aligned with a strategic, innovative programme which is extremely ambitious. The EEP work through its kicks, and that will strengthen the European Union's focus on the knowledge triangle research, innovation and education. We also have to strengthen our innovative ecosystem, and that means that we have to focus on very relevant goals.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, We have to have a innovative Europe, one which can increase our actions towards regions which need a greater innovative capacity. We also have specific points for Zoetis, which will ensure greater participation from countries where there will be a greater impact. I also wanted to show that in the Horizon Europe framework, the European Innovation and Technology Institute and Research Councils are even more complementary.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, They have to create even more synergies to ensure that we are favouring our European competitiveness and our European businesses. And there is a memorandum of agreement that was assigned to the right and the e i. C can work together on projects with businesses in order to ensure that they can achieve their goals. We also need to ensure that we have a correct legal basis, one which has a pilot project that will increase the entrepreneurial and innovative capacities of businesses and of higher education institutions.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, We also have to ensure that they contribute more to local value chains. There will be also new kicks in the creative and cultural sectors, and that will create synergies in Horizon, Europe and the cultural sector. And in twenty twenty six there will be a new kick in the water and maritime sector. If I may, I would just like to finish by saying that Horizon Europe is an open programme both in terms of synergies with other programmes.

SOUNDBITE (French), Mariya GABRIEL,  European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, As well as cohesion funds, amongst others, and on the international with an international perspective, have carrying out exploratory discussions with potential future partners. It's also working with the European Research and Innovation Councils and calls for proposals have been launched. The final work is being done and will be published in the coming weeks. Thank you very much for listening and I'm very much looking forward to hearing your comments.