Horizonte Europa Décimo Programa-Quadro de Investigação e Inovação

- calls for the proposed Framework Programme’s budget to be the minimum allocation that would allow it to live up to the EU’s ambitions;

- requests that the budget be designed in such a way that it is rooted in crisis-proof stability, meaning that it is protected from being adjusted to benefit other strategic European programmes and initiatives;

- supports the need for the Framework Programme to build more practical synergies with the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), involving cities and regions as key players in restoring the EU’s competitiveness;

- calls for the enabling and multiplying role of smart specialisation strategies (S3/S4) to be recognised;

- welcomes the streamlined coordination between the implementation of the NRP plans to enable cities and regions to jointly invest in projects co-financed by the Framework Programme;

- insists to effectively support ‘pockets of excellence’ especially in less developed rural and peripheral regions, using the Regional Innovation Scoreboard;

- underlines the need to tackle brain drain and foster the genuine movement of talent within the EU;

- calls for a European Researcher Status to be set up that would allow peer-to-peer recognition and smoother exchanges;

- underlines that the success of the EU Missions depends on their local ownership;

- particular attention should be paid to the integration of regions with weaker structural connectivity into European knowledge and innovation networks;

- finds it regrettable that the Framework Programme favours a national approach to carry out the Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence programme.