Joint Declaration for a Bold FP10: Investing in RD&I to Boost European Competitiveness

Europe stands at a decisive juncture. The Draghi report on European Competitiveness has laid bare a stark reality: Europe’s productivity growth has stalled, its innovation gap with the U.S. and China is widening, and the continent risks a slow but irreversible decline in its economic standing. At the same time, the Competitiveness Compass and the EU’s political guidelines place research, development and innovation (RD&I) at the heart of Europe’s strategy to reverse this trend.

MedTech Europe, along with 85 European associations representing key RD&I stakeholders, fully endorse this diagnosis and urgently call on EU Institutions to act with commensurate ambition in designing and funding the next Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10).

In this joint declaration, we call on EU institutions to allocate a substantially increased budget to FP10;  reinforce collaborative and industry-driven RD&I;  and ensure that FP10 together with ECF support the full RD&I continuum.