FSFE has sent input to the European Commission on its upcoming seven-year flagship program for research funding. Under the "Horizon 2020" program, the European Commission will support research and development in Europe with 80 billion Euro from 2014 to 2020.
The goal of FSFE's contribution is to help the EC maximise the social value Europeans obtain from the Horizon 2020 program, which is funded out of the taxes they have paid.
Key points of FSFE's input:
- Distributed systems and cryptography are key areas which should receive R and D funding. They will be essential to preserving users' freedoms in a world of networked services.
- Results obtained from publicly funded research should be accessible to the public, and should be available for re-use.
- Administrative hurdles to obtaining funding under Horizon 2020 should be lowered, in order to make access easier for small companies, organisations, and individuals.
FSFE will continue to engage with the European institutions in order to support the development of Horizon 2020.