• Published on 14 Dec 2017
• About ARTEMIS

Perspectives on ECSEL beyond the 2020 Horizon

In view of the forthcoming political debate on European research and innovation (R&I) in the period beyond 2020, the industry associations AENEAS, ARTEMIS-IA and EPoSS, as the three private members of the ECSEL Joint Undertaking, would like to put forward some considerations in reply to the renewed industrial policy strategy proposed by the European Commission in September 2017, and more particularly as their input for the Commission’s forthcoming communication on the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020 including ECSEL, its proposal for the next Framework Programme for R&I (working title “FP9”; expected by mid-2018) and – ultimately – its proposal for an extension or successor of ECSEL beyond 2020 (“ECSEL2”), to be tabled early in 2019.

Below a short summary, read the full report here. 

In a nutshell, the three Industry Associations see the following key strengths of ECSEL when observing the functioning of ECSEL since 2014:

• ECSEL delivers on industrial competitiveness, economic value and societal impact
• ECSEL operates effectively and efficiently
• ECSEL effectively implements the European Research Area (ERA) in the ECS domain

Policy arguments for the extension or succession of ECSEL beyond 2020 would be:

• Better aligning EU and national investments
• Encouraging more  industry participation
• Enabling the renewed EU industrial policy strategy
• Ensuring Europe's sovereignty in ECS
• Externalising programme implementation

For ECSEL2 the three Industry Associations advocate:

• Wider scope
• Strong industry involvement
• More synergy and funding from other initiatives
• Simplified co-funding
• Increased efficiency
• Picotal role for Lighthouse initiatives in mission-oriented approuch
• Moonshots

Make it happen

For implementing the above, ECSEL2 will need a larger budget, also depending on a potential widening of its scope. Therefore, we very much welcome the plea from the European Parliament for a €120 billion budget for FP9, or preferably even a doubling w.r.t. Horizon 2020, as suggested in the Lamy report.
We look forward to discussing the status of ECSEL and the arguments, options and next steps for its extension or succession after 2020 with EU institutions and our other stakeholders.