The European Union has allowed for transnational cooperation across the Member States in a way that was not imaginable even a generation ago. Indeed, much of the added value that the European Union is able to provide derives from the otherwise intangible benefits that arise from the good will and greater freedoms that Europe now possesses.
The European Union plays a vital role by generating critical mass, economies of scale and by ensuring cooperation and concerted action at a trans-national level in the field of research and innovation.
Operating at a European level will enable Europe to face a number of major challenges, such as the ageing of the population, the fight against climate change or the security of energy supply. Once again, these challenges simply cannot be adequately confronted without scaling up to at least a European level.
Horizon 2020 is the European Research and Innovation programme to run from 2014 to 2020 (80 billion euros) aiming at securing Europe's global competitiveness whilst constituting a part of the drive to create sustainable growth and new jobs in Europe.
Horizon 2020 will be much more then a funding programme. It will be a fundamental instrument in structuring research and innovation in Europe. Therefore, it should be designed to overcome fragmentation and to encourage collaboration across Europe and beyond.
The forthcoming Horizon 2020 programme will reinforce Europe's leading position in a domain in which Europe has lost ground in many areas. Horizon 2020 represents a real step forward in that it addresses European difficulties and seeks to supply a series of appropriate solutions.
The ability to innovate but also to see innovation through to viable market solutions is central to competitiveness. The whole innovation cycle should be covered as this will lead to the enhanced participation of European industry.
The present paper aims at discussing the contribution of science and innovation to the economy. The current situation of science and innovation in Europe and the forthcoming European Programme for Research and Innovation - Horizon 2020 will be described.