madam president research and innovation are key to delivering growth and to meeting our biggest challenges
i have seen much excellent research funded by european grants both in collaborative projects with industry and across borders and in individual grants to expert scientists
however europe's framework programme has a reputation for being the most bureaucratic in the world
commissioner i still think you can do more for simplification
money is tight and funds must get rapidly to the scientists in the lab and not just to those who fill in the forms and check the accounts
not every bid can be financed and in the world of research added value is of course difficult to measure but i do not believe that a common european system for evaluating performance is the only way forward
we need scientists who compete with the best in the world and they should be evaluated on the world stage
we also must not compromise that principle of excellence
the european research council for example has done much to support individual scientists
if their mandate is changed to support team-based projects this must not be to the detriment of supporting individuals of excellence
i would like to see more money for research but there is no bottomless bank account
i and my group cannot support doubling the eu budget in one area without a commitment to showing where that money can come from elsewhere
we would instead like to see public money work more intelligently both alongside private investment and through better public procurement
