Playing a critical role in expanding Europe's horizons

Impact ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (8) ◽  
pp. 4-5
Author(s):  
Lucy Sharp

The Horizon 2020 programme is the largest and most ambitious research and innovation programme ever undertaken by the EU, which has committed to investing almost €80 billion in thousands of projects between 2014 and 2020. The Programme seeks to promote research and innovation and to boost the number of breakthroughs, discoveries and groundbreaking developments achieved in Europe, as well as to facilitate the process of taking this progress from the laboratory to the marketplace. As the means for driving economic growth and creating jobs in a bid to secure Europe's global competitiveness, Horizon 2020 is backed by Europe's leaders and members of the European Parliament. The critical role played by research sets it at the very heart of this programme's investments in the future of citizens of the EU.

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Witold Wiliński

Abstract The aim of this article is an extensive presentation of the fiscal policy conducted by the EU states in the years 2008–2015. The analysis concerns the legal regulations introduced at the EU level by the European Parliament and the Council, as well as the fiscal policies of governments of particular states. The first part of the article analyzes basic macroeconomic data in EU states concerning the level of debt, the level of gross domestic product (GDP) redistribution, and the level of economic growth in the analyzed period. The second part discusses the legal acts adopted by the European Parliament and the Council (the so-called ‘sixpack’ and the European Fiscal Compact), aimed at improving macroeconomic balance and ensuring supervision over the proper functioning of national finances. The third part analyzes the discretionary fiscal policies pursued in EU states. The main conclusions of this article are as follows: (i) EU countries recorded higher national debt levels and debt growth rates between 2008 and 2015 than most non-EU Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries; (ii) despite legal measures taken by the European Council and the European Commission in the form of the sixpack and the European Fiscal Compact, and despite discretionary fiscal measures such as in the form of the European Economic Recovery Plan, five EU countries (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) have experienced a steady increase in their national debt levels; and (iii) deep reforms in the composition and level of government expenditure are a prerequisite for reducing national debt levels and for achieving satisfactory economic growth in these countries.


Author(s):  
Harry van Bommel

This chapter discusses the strengthening of ties between the EU and Israel during the breakdown of Oslo as well as during other fruitless peace initiatives. Shortly after the Oslo process began, the EU and Israel initiated negotiations on broadening their cooperation. This led to the signing of the EU–Israel Association Agreement in 1995. As well as economic cooperation, which was established as early as 1975 in a cooperation agreement, this new treaty included other areas, such as scientific and technical research. In more recent years the relationship between the EU and Israel has been deepened further. In 2014 the EU and Israel signed the Horizon 2020 scientific cooperation agreement, which gives Israel equal access with EU member states to the largest-ever EU research and innovation program. In itself, there is nothing wrong with the deepening of economic, scientific, cultural, and political relations between countries. However, the deepening of relations between the EU and Israel means indirect support for the Israeli occupation and the policy of expanding the settlements.


Author(s):  
Ferrarini Guido ◽  
Macchiavello Eugenia

This chapter explores the policy and regulatory issues generated by investment-based crowdfunding in Europe. Firstly, it argues that crowdfunding raises serious investor protection concerns, particularly when directed to retail investors. As governments try to stimulate innovation and the formation of new enterprises, a trade-off is created between investor protection and economic growth. The laws of the EU and its Member States try to solve this trade-off in different ways, as the chapter shows with reference to MiFID and the laws of the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. Secondly, it shows that MiFID II, while enhancing investor protection and furthering harmonization, does not create all the conditions needed for a pan-European crowdfunding market. At the same time, MiFID II narrows the potential for exemptions under which some Member States have adopted special regimes for crowdfunding, therefore restricting the scope for an enabling approach to investment-based crowdfunding at national level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 319
Author(s):  
Josip Visković ◽  
Martina Udovičić

<p class="AbstractText">Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be the engine of the European economy. In EU SMEs make up more than 99% of all companies and provide around 75 million jobs. They are a key source of job creation and stimulation of entrepreneurial spirit and innovation and are therefore essential for fostering competitiveness and maintaining employment in the EU. Yet SMEs often have problems in raising funds to finance fixed investments and inventory and working capital. SMEs mostly use internal sources while the most important external sources of SMEs are bank loans, which are not easily accessible. Hence, one of the priorities of the European Commission is stimulating SMEs through EU funds and programs in order to enable SMEs development and finally to contribute to economic growth. SMEs sector also dominates the economic structure of Croatian economy and they have similar financing problems. However, Croatia in period 2014 – 2020 have at disposal a total amount of 10.676 billion of euros from European structural and investment funds, of which 8.397 billion are aimed for cohesion policy objectives and 470 million euros are aimed for the development and competitiveness of SMEs. Besides, EU programs COSME and HORIZON 2020 are intended to provide direct support to SMEs and to create a favorable environment for their development. However, even though the number of successful project applications for small and medium-sized enterprises in the total share of Croatian project applications is relatively high, fund absorption has not reached satisfactory levels. Using the sample of Split-Dalmatia County’s SMEs, this study finds out reasons for low absorption capacity from SMEs point of view: SMEs are interested in funds from European Union, but are not sufficiently familiar with their availability i.e. funds at their disposal, especially programs COSME and HORIZON 2020; SMEs state that they know how to apply for EU funds but considered the procedure as complicated and demanding regarding documentation, and that the needed knowledge and know-how for proposal is beyond their scope; SMEs are not satisfied with the cooperation with state institutions, especially Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds and Croatian Chamber of Economy. We point out four main conclusions: (1) SMEs are not enough aware of EU financing possibilities; (2) additional promotion of EU programs directly to SMEs is required; (3) additional education of SMEs regarding project proposal and documentation is needed and (4) more proactive policy of state institutions and cooperation with local authorities is expected. Finally, greater awareness and professional help might be a key in strengthening the SMEs, whose entrepreneurial spirit and innovation process is a prerequisite for economic growth and development.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2.28) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Dina Bērziņa

Sustainable growth is the key driver of development and it depends on research and innovation which creates investment opportunities for new and better products and services and thereby increases the competitiveness and employment. Research has a long history on our old continent: the European Union is a research think-tank, still the world’s leading producer of scientific knowledge but is lagging in implementation of the results. Therefore, constitution of the Framework Programmes enabled better coordination of research among all the participating countries. The EU Framework Programmes celebrated 30 years of operation recently – they have become a key element of the research policy in Europe today. Since the First Framework Programme launched in 1984, the current Horizon 2020 has expanded in scope and scale by attracting more resources and participating countries performing research on diverse topics. This paper provides an overview of the EU Member States’ engagement with emphasis on the two last Framework Programmes. It outlines the current disproportion with respect to different country group performance and provides links to various data sources for further studies.  


Author(s):  
Agnieszka Regiec

EU health care policy objectives in connection with the society growing olderEuropean Union’s society is aging, which generates the increase in needs regarding health care and its financial repercussions. In order to meet economic needs increased by ageing population, the Health for Growth Programme was commenced. Moreover Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, will focus on, amongst societal challenges, health, demographic change and well-being. One of the other milestones for European health care was entering into force the Directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
N. A. Pozhilova

Today, despite the known scale of European Union grant funding in support of research and innovation, the EU Commission seeks to ensure the use of alternative sources of funding, for example, venture capital financing by collective investment enterprises, including through the creation of a pan-European fund of funds, as well as using such mechanisms like crowdfunding. The paper provides an analysis of three possible promising areas of alternative financing using the current mechanisms of the financial market, which are used on an equal basis both in the EU and in other countries, including an analysis of obtaining funding for projects that received grants under the EU Horizon 2020 Framework Program. The first way is to finance scientific projects thanks to new venture funding mechanisms of the European fund VentureEU, the second is to ensure the attraction of funds through crowdfunding (collective financing), the third way is provided by enterprises entering an IPO. The use of alternative methods of financing makes it possible, on the one hand, to ensure the commercialization of research projects that allow research teams to receive additional remuneration and direct it to further work in the field of research, and on the other hand, to draw public attention to pressing problems of science and technology.


Author(s):  
О. Vyshnevskyi ◽  

The purpose of the article is to determine the strategic directions for the integration of educational, research and innovation areas of Ukraine into the corresponding areas of the EU, taking into account the economic interests of Ukraine. These areas can be delimited from each other by the product they create. The product of the educational area is the reproduction of existing knowledge, of the research area is the creation of new knowledge (novation), of the innovation area – innovation. With regard to areas, three types of integration can be proposed: (1) complete; (2) partial; (3) element-wise. Complete integration of the two areas provides for the formation of a single institutional environment and the corresponding links. In this case, there is an institutional absorption of one area by another. Partial integration of areas will take place through their intersection. In this case, new elements are formed, which simultaneously have connections corresponding to the first and second areas, and the institutional environment becomes mixed. Element-wise integration occurs when elements from one area are integrated into another area. For instance, a researcher or student from country A migrates to country B for permanent residence. Based on statistical observations for 2013-2019 it can be argued that the results of the activities of the Ukrainian research area are used to a greater extent in the EU than the results of the EU research area in Ukraine. And ultimately, novations created in the Ukrainian research area are transformed into innovations in the European innovation area and returned (imported) to Ukraine in the form of final high-tech products. From the standpoint of ensuring the economic growth of Ukraine, the current path of integration processes is not optimal. The transformation of the Ukrainian educational, research and innovation areas into the subareas of the EU ensures, first of all, the economic growth (on an innovative basis) of the EU, and not of Ukraine. So, given that the European research area is only an instrument for achieving certain EU goals, then the unconditional inclusion of Ukraine to this instrument turns the Ukrainian area into its component. For the Ukrainian economy, the optimal strategic direction for integrating the educational, research and innovation areas of Ukraine and the EU is their synthesis through the creation of a single space at the intersection of the areas of Ukraine and the EU, as well as element-wise integration from the areas of the EU into the areas of Ukraine. As a result, the Roadmap for Ukraine’s Integration into the European Research Area requires revision.


REGION ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Lozzi ◽  
Valerio Gatta ◽  
Edoardo Marcucci

The European Commission (EC) has recently developed a growing awareness and interest with respect to the challenges urban freight transport (UFT) poses. Consequently, the EC has started defining specific policies and promoted dedicated tools to address them. Transport is a shared responsibility between the EU and the Member States, where the subsidiarity principle applies. Accordingly, the EC provides European local authorities with support in the different areas, including research and innovation funding. This paper aims to assess the linkage and consistency between EC policy priorities for UFT and the corresponding calls of the new Horizon 2020 (H2020) Research Programme, created by the EC in order to foster research and innovation. The paper identifies and extrapolates in a comparable format 10 UFT priority solutions, and consequently estimates their degree of correspondence with the H2020 Work Programmes (WPs) on the basis of the weight in monetary terms resulting from the research funds allocated to each of them. Findings show that, generally, the EC addresses UFT through a systematic and coherent approach. Moreover, all the identified solutions are covered by at least one H2020 call, although the extent of the coverage is heterogeneous.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danila Longo ◽  
Giulia Olivieri ◽  
Rossella Roversi ◽  
Giulia Turci ◽  
Beatrice Turillazzi

Energy poverty—involving a combination of factors, such as low household incomes, high energy prices, and low levels of residential energy efficiency—is identified as a complex and increasing issue affecting people’s physical health, well-being, and social inclusion. Even though a shared identification of energy poverty is not yet agreed, this phenomenon has been recognized as an EU priority. Several EU legislative documents address the topic, trying to outline its boundaries and provide a framework for mitigative actions. At the same time, different research and demonstration projects have been funded to experiment and evaluate innovative approaches, strategies, and solutions and to promote good practices at national, regional, and local levels. This review paper presents some results of the “ZOOM” project (“Energy zoning for urban systems. Models and relations for the built environment”, funded by University of Bologna in the framework of Alma Idea 2017–ongoing), proposing a critical overview of the EU projects directly or indirectly connected to energy poverty—funded under the 7th Framework Program (FP7) and under Horizon 2020 Program (H2020). The aim of such a review is to highlight the main objectives, trends, and related topics of ongoing and concluded projects addressing energy poverty, in order to identify gaps and open issues and to understand the possible orientation and placement of this subject in the future EU research and innovation framework project, Horizon Europe.


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