PRESS RELEASE
Peace people and planet - Campaigners call for EU research agenda to shift focus from
private benefits to global public goods
Brussels, 3 July 2017 – Ahead of today’s conference “Research – Shaping our Future”, gathering leading EU
policymakers, innovators and research institutions, civil society groups call for the next EU Research policy to shift its
focus from jobs, growth and competitiveness to delivering global public goods for its citizens.
“With a needs-driven research agenda, the EU could concretely deliver impact for its citizens, address today’s societal
and environmental challenges and contribute to a sustainable future for Europe. It could pave the way for the
transition to a low carbon economy, sustainable food and farming systems and the development of new affordable
health technologies.” says Fanny Voitzwinkler, Head of the EU office of Global Health Advocates.
Research that will make Europe and the world an environmentally sustainable, healthy and peaceful place to live
must now be prioritised over research that delivers profit and economic return. The belief that boosting industry’s
competitiveness will create jobs and ‘trickle down’ to the benefit of all people is misleading.
“Substantial portions of EU Research funds have been turned into subsidies for large corporations at a time when
essential public risk assessment and research institutions are facing budget cuts. This is not acceptable: industry
subsidisation is not what a public research policy should be about” says Martin Pigeon, Research and Campaigner at
Corporate Europe Observatory.
Private profitability is not a sufficient measure of public benefits – a position also defended by several renowned
economists and confirmed by the widening levels of inequalities within our societies.
“At a time when the EU needs to reconnect with citizens, this next research programme should ensure full public
return on public investments. There is need for real democratic and participatory decision-making to enable greater
accountability over the use of public funds and ensure they have social and environmental impact. Public funds
should not be used for military spending.” says Leida Rijnhout, Resources Justice and Sustainability Programme
Coordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe.
Proposals for defence to become a much more prominent EU research area post 2020 represents a fundamental
shift of the EU from a civilian peace-oriented project to a military-led one, with significant implications for the
founding principles set out in the EU treaties.
“The EU is a peace project. There can be no place for military research. The EU should invest in research projects
which contribute to the peaceful prevention and resolution of conflicts rather than subsidise research for arms
production.” warns Laëtitia Sédou, European Programme Officer at the European Network Against Arms Trade.
ENDS
Media contact: Marine Ejuryan, +32 (0)485 32 68 73 / mejuryan@ghadvocates.org
Notes to Editors
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Civil society groups from a wide range of fields have come together for the first time to express their views
and suggest concrete proposals on the next EU research framework. This is the first attempt to discuss how
to mainstream the sustainable development goals into Research and provides the view of civil society
stakeholders which are rarely consulted on EU Research policies. The full list of signatories includes:
Greenpeace, Oxfam, Global Justice Now, Health Action International, Friends of the Earth Europe,
Transparency International UK, Corporate Europe Observatory, Commons Network, Global Health
Advocates, the European Environmental Bureau, CAN Europe, RESULTS UK, Aids Fonds, STOP Aids Alliance,
STOP Aids UK, Transport & Environment, BukoPharma, TP Organics, Universities Allied for Essential
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Medicines, European Network Against Arm Trade, Transnational Institute, Access to Medicines Ireland,
HEAL.
On 3 July 2017, the European Commission will host an event, “Research – Shaping our Future” in Brussels.
The event will bring together policymakers from EU institutions with nearly 700 stakeholders to discuss the
role of research and innovation for Europe's future. Pascal Lamy, former DG of the World Trade
Organisation, has been appointed chair of the High Level Group on maximising the impact of European
research and innovation programmes. He will present the Group's vision and recommendations for the
future, based on the results of the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020.
Future of Europe: In response to the Brexit and its impact on the EU budget, European Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker published a white paper on the Future of Europe, which has been followed by
a series of reflection papers on the direction of the EU and its budget.
The scenarios presented have been criticised for a lack of vision by MEPs, civil society who has developed a
6th scenario and for failing on climate and increasing funds for defence instead of investing in society.
Future of EU Research Programme (FP9): The European Commission is in the process of drafting the next EU
Research Framework Programme. The draft proposal is expected by spring 2018.
o As part of this process, the European Commission commissioned a foresight study on FP9. The
study, “New Horizons: Future Scenarios for Research and Innovation Policies in Europe”, reinforced
the role of research and innovation in addressing social and environmental challenges, noting that
its primary role is to “create and enable options for society”.
o Assessments of some of the EU research agenda’s flagship initiatives have uncovered serious
questions about ability to address social and environmental challenges. The Innovative Medicines
Initiative (IMI) is a good example. In 2016, independent report found no evidence yet of “noticeable
socio-economic impacts on the health system or health benefits for patients”, in IMI as “the
potential or actual socio-economic impacts of projects had rarely been at the forefront of the minds
of those involved in the projects”. Both the Council and the European Parliament have stressed the
need to ensure that IMI 2 yields a fair return on investment to ensure that the medical innovations
supported by public investment focus on public health interests and the unmet medical needs of
patients. The results of a six-month investigation into IMI by German newspaper Spiegel Online,
Swiss public broadcaster SRF, and the Belgian newspaper De Standaard also concluded that IMI
priorities diverge from WHO-defined recommendations for essential medicines, and that, for
instance, neglected diseases, like Malaria and HIV, were not sufficiently taken into consideration in
IMI’s research agenda and project selection.