Consultation respondents favour “going further” with current approach to research with civil and military potential
The EU has been advised by the research and innovation sector not to make major changes to how it handles dual-use R&I, which has both civil and military potential.
At present, the EU funds only civil work on such areas through its main R&I programme, with military work funded through its European Defence Fund.
In January, the European Commission launched a consultation asking for views on three options: largely maintaining the current approach, opening up parts of the main R&I programme for military work, and creating a dedicated EU instrument for dual-use R&I.
It published summary results of the consultation last week, concluding that “overall, the tendency is mostly favourable to option one, in particular among research institutions, non-governmental organisations and…citizens”.
Little support for major change
Option one—“going further based on the current setup”—would “introduce incremental improvements that can already be tested in the current EU funding programmes”.
Several research organisations already published their responses to the consultation in full, with many calling for increased clarity from the Commission about exactly what the options would entail.
Among the 241 replies to the consultation, few seem to support options two or three. The Commission said that among four trade union respondents, three “were opposed to all three options and only one expressed [a] preference towards option one”.
“There is more openness to option two among some public authorities, business associations and private companies, subject to further discussion on the details of the implementation,” it said.
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