Financing of research, development and innovation in the new EU programming period after 2020 will be definitely affected by Brexit and new challenges.
Better synergies of EU programmes have to be created with EU funding allocated at national level. Those are some of the main thoughts from a seminar on financing of R&D&I in aviation sector post 2020 expressed by the representatives of EU institutions, Council and businesses at the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU on September 27th 2017.
Aviation industry has a long tradition in the Czech Republic. In the last couple of years, it is growing steadily. Czech innovative companies must gradually shift their focus from European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) financing towards other programmes and financial instruments as the financial envelope for ESIF will decrease in the post 2020 period. Aviation sector is a great example in this respect. So far, Czech companies have achieved solid success in the Clean Sky 2, a programme that supports research, development and innovation in green aviation.
The Czech Ministry of Trade and Industry was progressive when it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Clean Sky 2 last year. The aim is to create synergies in financing from ESIF and Horizon 2020, i.e. Clean Sky 2. The Ministry is preparing a special call under OP EIC Aplikace programme which will bridge the gap between ESIF and other EU funds. “The synergy we are creating will also stimulate formation of consortiums which will facilitate better interaction of various actors within the research and innovation environment”, says Tomáš Novotný, Deputy Minister for EU Funds, Research, Development, Innovation and Investment Incentives, Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The event was opened by Jaroslav Zajíček, Czech Permanent Representative to COREPER I, followed by Clara de la Torre, Director responsible for Transport, DG RTD, European Commission, Tomáš Novotný from the Czech Ministry of Industry and MEP Christian Ehler, rapporteur for the Clean Sky 2. In the second panel, the participants could hear the testimonials from Airbus and Honeywell representatives and their vision on Clean Sky 3/ FP9. The event was organised by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU, Cleans Sky 2 and Czech Permanent Representation to the EU.
PRESS RELEASE: Support to aviation sector – ESIF and Horizon 2020 are different but complementary (PDF)
