[ie-announce] Informatics Europe response to the European Commission proposal to change the Horizon 2020 budget

[Cristina Pereira]

On December 11, 2014, Informatics Europe sent the following letter to 
the relevant EU authorities in response to the proposal of the President 
of the European Commission for a significant change of policy and budget 
for the Horizon 2020 support program for research and innovation:

President of the European Commission
President of the European Council
President of the European Parliament
Commissioner for Research and Innovation of the European Commission
Director General of the Directorate for Research and Innovation of the 
European Commission

As President of Informatics Europe---the association of computer science 
departments and research laboratories in Europe---I am charged to write 
to you to express our concerns that the recent discussion about changes 
in research funding under Horizon 2020 might weaken the initiatives in 
all sectors of science, and in particular in Information and 
Communication Science and Technology. We believe that any weakening of 
the EU budget that would reduce the ability to support long-term 
research would endanger Europe's ability in the future to nurture 
innovation and sustain competition.

This is especially true for our sector. Although Information and 
Communication Technologies are already at the heart of the society we 
are creating for our future, long-term research investments are crucial 
to fuel short-term developments with the results of high-risk research 
efforts that investigate radical innovations that would lead to truly 
secure cyber-infrastructures upon which the future society may safely 
rely. By weakening its RTD budget, and in particular its long-term 
research support, Europe will impoverish its human capital and will miss 
the boat of innovation and competition.

Informatics Europe expresses at the same time its willingness to 
collaborate at all levels to improve Horizon 2020 initiatives in ICT at 
all levels and to contribute to making the investments as fruitful as 
possible.

On behalf of the Executive Board and the members of Informatics Europe, 
I urge you strongly to to take our concerns in due consideration.

Carlo Ghezzi
President of Informatics Europe

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