Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Public-private partnerships in Horizon 2020: a powerful tool to deliver on innovation and growth in Europe

Europe must invest more and better in research and innovation. More research and innovation are critical in order to create sustainable economic growth and jobs and to reinforce Europe's international competitiveness. Research and innovation also help us address major challenges such as combatting climate change, securing a steady supply of clean energy or meeting the cost of an ageing population. However, progress is slow towards the Europe 2020 objective of investing 3% of GDP in R&D, with particular weaknesses in private investments.

The European Commission is working to address this under-investment. The Europe 2020 strategy and in particular the Innovation Union flagship initiative are providing a better environment for innovation. The Commission's proposals for the next EU research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020 foresee funding along the entire value chain, from fundamental research through to market introduction.

A key element of Horizon 2020 is the proposal to join forces with the private sector and with Member States, to achieve results that one country or company is less likely to achieve alone. Accompanying this Communication are Commission legislative proposals to establish public-private partnerships and public-public partnerships with Member States under Horizon 2020.

The package represents a total investment over the next 7 years of €22 billion whereby €8 billion from Horizon 2020 will leverage €10 billion from industry, and close to €4 billion from Member States. This will provide vital funding for large-scale, longer-term, risky research and innovation initiatives. These are essential for EU leadership in strategic, globally competitive technology sectors that provide high quality jobs (currently over 4 million such jobs) and contribute to meeting the EU objective of 20% of GDP coming from manufacturing by 2020. The partnerships will deliver major benefits to society, such as lower carbon emissions, alternatives to fossil fuels, and new treatments to combat poverty related diseases and the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.

The Commission is presenting these legislative proposals at this stage so that the necessary legislative decisions can be taken in time to launch the partnerships at the start of Horizon 2020. This responds directly to the call from the European Council to prioritise the impact of the Multiannual Financial Framework on growth and jobs.

This Communication also presents the Commission's approach to using other forms of public-private partnerships to implement Horizon 2020. A strategy for strengthening the advice it receives from industry and other stakeholders through European Technology Platforms and the Commission task forces on industrial policy will be presented in forthcoming Staff Working Documents.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)494: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:494:FIN

ESO: Background Information: EU and industry join forces to invest €22 billion in research and innovation http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-releaseeu-and-industry-join-forces-to-invest-e22-billion-in-research-and-innovation/

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