EU urged to exempt research spending from deficit rules

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is calling on the European Union to introduce a major change to its rules to encourage member states to invest more in R&D: decouple national research and innovation investments from deficit rules until the EU’s 3% of GDP target is met, reports Martin Greenacre for Science|Business.

The recommendation features in the EESC’s opinion on the upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act, adopted on 16 July. The EESC is an EU advisory body representing employers, workers and civil society organisations.

The ERA was launched in 2000 with the aim of creating a single market for research and innovation, and EU member states officially endorsed the 3% target two years later. But fast forward more than two decades and R&D spending averages around 2.2% of GDP, while significant barriers remain to the free circulation of researchers and knowledge.
Full report on the Science|Business site