The European Commission recognized this Tuesday that despite there being more investment in innovation and research, and being more “integrated, efficient and attractive” in the single market, there is still “It is far” from reaching 3% of GDP.

“For every euro invested we managed to raise four euros from the private sector”said the Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, at a press conference in Strasbourg (France).

In a statement, the community executive states that the European Union “worked to create a more integrated, efficient and attractive single market for research and innovation.”

“But more needs to be done to achieve the full potential” that exists in the 27 countries of the European Union, says the Commission in its evaluation of the implementation of the European Research Area (ERA).

The European Commission wants to prioritize investments, “align research and innovation efforts, support reforms” through, for example, the cohesion policy and the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.

The European Union “is still far from reaching the objective of investing 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in research and development” and the main problem “continues to be low private investmentwhich is limited by administrative, regulatory and legal barriers that have to be resolved,” acknowledged the community executive.

Despite an investment of around €1 billion under Horizon Europe collaborative projects, “there is still much to be done to reduce bureaucracy and better inform researchers about their opportunities.”

The European Commission concluded that it is necessary to “deepen the ERA”, improve the working conditions and professional development of researchers and “resolve the disparities that persist” in all countries of the European Union and “accessibility to research and infrastructure European technological technologies”.

The average investment in science in the CPLP is less than 1% of GDP

The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) also revealed this Tuesday that the average investment in science among member states is less than 1% of GDP, with only two of them, Portugal and Brazil, being above the average.

In a presentation on “The role of science funding agencies in the financing of common projects of the CPLP: creation of a scientific and technological cooperation fund”, the director of Cultural Action and Portuguese Language of the CPLP, João Ima Panzo stated that “the so-called developed countries invest on average around 3% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in science, technology and innovation.”

At the CPLP level, the data collected “points to a variation between 1.7 and 0.2 percent of GDP in different countries, being at the forefront of this process Portugal and Brazilwith investments that meet the minimum standards recommended by international organizations.”

“The average of all CPLP countries in relation to the Gross Domestic Product is less than 1%“, he said, emphasizing that this value is, “not to mention worrying, a value that should make people reflect.”

The global average, according to the OECD and UNESCO, is around 1.7% of the countries’ GDP, “but with great disparities between them,” he added, and recommended that investment in this field be closer to 3.0 percent. .

Data collected in CPLP countries “only pose challenges“said the same person in charge. Among these challenges, João Ima Panzo highlighted that “obviously there are budgetary limitations and the lack of adequate infrastructure for science, technology and innovation” in the member states of the organization. Regarding opportunities, he considered that these “are related to strengthening inter-institutional cooperation and optimizing available resources.”

“The very designation of a network of investment agencies and similar structures demonstrates the desire for integration and to follow a democratic line so that all Member States, regardless of their status, can participate in this dialogue on the financing of science in the space of the CPLP”, important for the economic and sustainable development of the States, he stated. The Secretary of State for Science of Portugal, Ana Paiva, and the executive secretary of the CPLP, Zacarias da Costa, left the same message in their interventions this Tuesday.

The First Meeting of Science Financing Agencies and Similar Structures of the Member States of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), takes place between Tuesday and Wednesday, at the headquarters of that organization, in Lisbon, in person and by videoconference, broadcast live on the CPLP YouTube channel.

In addition to the executive secretary of the CPLP, Zacarias da Costa, the inaugural session was attended by the Permanent Representative of Sao Tome and Principe to the organization, ambassador Esterline Gonçalves Género, representative of the current presidency of the community, and the Secretary of State. of Sciences of Portugal, Ana Paiva. At the beginning of the meeting, a declaration of commitment and the statutes of the Network of Science Funding Agencies or Similar Structures of the CPLP Member States were signed.

The event includes five round tables, under the topics of best practices in the financing of scientific research; innovation and technology transfer strategies; training and training of human resources in science and technology management; international cooperation in science financing; preparation of recommendations, the joint action plan and preparation and signing of the final declaration.

The member states of the CPLP are Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Timor-Leste.