The European Commission welcomed a delegation led by Nobel laureates Sir Tim Hunt and Professor Jules Hoffman that have presented an open letter, signed by 44 Nobel laureates and 6 Fields medallists, and 130,000 people from Europe and around the globe, which emphasises the importance of EU funding for research and innovation, and warns against the consequences of budget cuts in these areas.

An open letter, initiated by Nobel laureates Sir Tim Hunt and Professor Nüsslein-Volhard, which was published in late October and was signed by 44 Nobel laureates and 6 Fields medallists, and 130,000 people from Europe and around the globe, was now received by the European Commission. The signatories warn that in case of severe cuts to the EU research and innovation budget we risk losing a generation of talented scientists just when Europe needs them most. In this regard, the letter points in particular to the European Research Council that has achieved global recognition in a remarkably short time.

The letter emphasises the importance of EU funding for research and innovation, and warns against the consequences of budget cuts in these areas. In particular, it aims to preserve the European Commission’s proposed budget for 2014-2020 (€80 billion) thus ensuring that research and innovation do not suffer from disproportionate cuts when compared to other programmes.

The European Commission presented Horizon 2020, the new EU programme for research and innovation, as part of its EU budget proposal for 2014 to 2020. In order to give a boost to research and innovation as a driver of growth and jobs, the Commission has proposed an €80 billion budget, up from the €55 billion of the current programme (Framework Programme 7). As part of this proposal, the Commission wants to increase support for the European Research Council, which is mentioned explicitly in the open letter, from €7.5 billion (2007-2013) to over €13 billion (2014-2020).