Research Matters "Invest in the future!" – Recording and report available

The event offered a platform for discussing the vital importance of investing in research and innovation as a way of addressing current and future geopolitical and societal challenges.

The discussions took place ahead of the publication of the first proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), expected mid-2025.

Main messages from the report

• The report "Much More Than a Market" by Enrico Letta has succeeded in creating a general awareness in EU public opinion that is crucial – for the future of Europe – in terms of reinvigorating investment in innovation, research and knowledge.
• The EU's next budget for R&I needs to be doubled to EUR 200 billion.
• Increasing R&I funding at EU level relies on resources provided by Member States. To ensure that national governments see this as a priority investment, national communities and citizens need to make a strong case for the importance of R&I in solving societal challenges and maintaining global competitiveness and hence prosperity.
• As well as additional funding, we need to change the paradigm of the EU financial budget (MFF) so that the fiscal framework allows for more efficient investment in R&I.
• Policies to bridge the R&I and financial sectors are long overdue and necessary if the EU is to achieve its goals. We need to find a compromise to develop a major investment plan combining public and private funding.
• The flagship idea of the 'fifth freedom' can serve today as an 'icebreaker' and 'door-opener' to mobilise synergies and help spread – and not only scale up – R&I across ALL countries and regions of the EU.

Recording & report

Watch the video recording and download the report on the Research Matters campaign website.