DIGITALEUROPE Statement Tallinn Call for Action

DIGITALEUROPE welcomes the Estonian Presidency’s call for political commitment in leveraging Research & Innovation for the future of Europe. The “Tallinn Call for Action”, presented at yesterday’s conference on “European Research Excellence – Impact and Value for Society”, gives impetus to concerted actions among all relevant stakeholders, as well as for increased impact and strong societal value of European research.

DIGITALEUROPE members have been active participants in publicly-funded research and innovation for decades, including in the previous and current EU Framework Programmes. “The digital industry clearly sees the added value of EU funding for research & innovation”, said Director-General Cecilia BonefeldDahl. Benefits include the development, diffusion and application of new knowledge, building momentum for global standards and early access to future markets. EU R&I programmes have also led to the creation of more diverse innovation ecosystems of large industry, SMEs, research institutes and academia across European borders, as experienced by the more than 300 000 R&D personnel employed by the ICT industry in the EU.

“We especially welcome the main recommendation of the Call for Action. Increasing the budget allocated to research and innovation is the best investment the European Union can make today for its future”, explained Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl. This recommendation hopefully also encourages Member States to increase their national funding, and we continue to ask them to fulfil their commitment from 2000 and to invest 3% of their GDP in R&D. Additional funding is also necessary to alleviate the problem of extreme oversubscription experienced in the current Framework Programme.

Digitisation in all areas is one of the key challenges to be addressed by the European Union. The next Framework Programme will play a part in making the digital transformation of the European economy and society a success – requiring the engagement and investment by EU institutions and member states alike. DIGITALEUROPE is gladly contributing to the development of FP9 and is working together with the Presidency and the European Commission towards an EU research & innovation policy that drives digital innovation and continues to bring together the most talented researchers and innovators in Europe.