Fund of funds idea not well received

By Ingemar Pongratz

The European Commission and Commissioner Moedas presented an idea to increase the support for European Innovation and to European SME by creating a new fund that would combine public and private funds much in the same way as the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) is supposed to do. This idea would be supported by the establishment of an European Innovation Council (EIC).

The EIC would then support SME and Innovators to find suitable funding and Investment capital to finance projects. The benefit of such a facility is that Innovators would receive support to find support and advice on where and how to find investment capital.

Science|Business reports that this scheme has received a very lukewarm reception by members of the European Parliament. The concern is that this is an additional attempt to drain the Horizon 2020 research and innovation financing scheme from funds.

Science|Business reports that while members of the European Parliament agree that there is shortage of Venture Capital funding in Europe, however, they point out that this is not a valid reason to further reduce the Horizon 2020 scheme. Venture Capital will not fund research specially basic research in any case so the European Parliament does not agree on the logic presented by the European Commission.

In contrast, members pointed out that further reduction of the Horizon 2020 scheme will further reduce the interest in research since the already low success figures associated with the Horizon 2020 will go down further. Lower funding available will translate to lower number of EU projects accepted and will reduce the interest on Horizon 2020.

We will continue to monitor the developments in this are. If you are planning a EU funded project application and would like to receive help and advice, do not hesitate to contact Pongratz Consulting. Send us a message either using the Online Contact Form or by email to:

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