Skip to main content

Eucar calls for targeted support for automotive research and innovation initiatives

The European Council for Automotive R&D (Eucar) has called for a number of priority automotive research and innovation (R&I) initiatives in Horizon 2020 to support competitive and sustainable road transport and for these initiatives to be supported by a substantial budget that reflects the sector’s social and economic contribution to Europe. Rémi Bastien, chairman of Eucar, set out the association’s recommendations on Horizon 2020 to an audience of MEPs and stakeholders at a seminar in the European Parliame
June 21, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The European Council for Automotive Research & Development (Eucar) has called for a number of priority automotive research and innovation (R&I) initiatives in Horizon 2020 to support competitive and sustainable road transport and for these initiatives to be supported by a substantial budget that reflects the sector’s social and economic contribution to Europe.

Rémi Bastien, chairman of Eucar, set out the association’s recommendations on Horizon 2020 to an audience of MEPs and stakeholders at a seminar in the European Parliament. Horizon 2020 is the EU’s Framework Programme for Research & Innovation from 2014-2020. Presenting the recommendations, Bastien highlighted the importance of Horizon 2020 for automotive R&I.

He called for the proposed €80 billion (US$101.32 billion) Horizon 2020 budget to be maintained and for the legislation to be finalised as soon as possible.

To support automotive R&I effectively, Eucar says a suitable budget for automotive initiatives in Horizon 2020 is necessary. This should reflect the automotive industry’s direct contribution of 6.9 per cent to European GDP and road transport’s status as a cornerstone of European society, free movement and economic activity. Eucar therefore calls for a budget share of Horizon 2020 to be devoted to automotive R&I initiatives, which corresponds to the industry's direct contribution to the EU economy, saying it is essential to support the objectives of smarter, cleaner, safer and more integrated road transport and to support the global competitiveness of the European automotive sector.

Related Content

  • Frequency changes threaten vehicle safety applications
    January 24, 2012
    The use of frequency spectrum at 5.9GHz for vehicle safety applications is at risk because of two draft bills currently before Congress. Here, we look at why and what’s being done to address the issue. In the US, the right of cooperative infrastructure to use frequency at 5.9GHz is under threat as a result of the proposal of two bills in Congress. The chronology of spectrum allocation for Dedicated Short- Range Communications (DSRC)-based Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) safety a
  • €86bn needed by 2030 if Europe is to achieve sustainable mobility, says report
    November 14, 2023
    EIT Urban Mobility research say there will be return of €3.06 for every euro invested
  • IRF reveals global award winners
    November 7, 2022
    ITS projects among those which won IRF's 2022 Global Road Achievement Awards
  • e-Call emergency service doesn't go far enough
    January 30, 2012
    eCall misses the point and is only a tacit acknowledgement that the road safety issue has not yet been adequately addressed, according to FEMA's Aline Delhaye. According to the Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations (FEMA), the European Commission's (EC's) ambitions for eCall implementation are premature and fail to take account of all road users' needs or of technological progress elsewhere.