Funding for research

Funding for research will help us confront great challenges like health and aging and energy, security and water security. Also, too often we allow bright ideas to be left in the laboratory or exploited elsewhere. Supporting innovation and development can help growth and competitiveness.

By collaborating with industry, EU research funding has encouraged significant investment from the private sector. A balanced programme should support small companies and individual pockets of excellence, but recognise the crucial role played by larger companies and leading universities.

We must not dumb down excellence. Europe can complement Member States' own programmes, but should not constrain them.

Simplification remains key. Less form filling, more real research.

There are serious questions regarding the impartiality of peer reviews in some sectors and this needs to be addressed.

Whilst increasing investment in research is welcome, I cannot support random figures plucked out of think air. The money has to come from somewhere else, and every penny of public money needs to work harder and be spent smarter.

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