The Bulgarian candidate for European commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, said in her opening speech at her hearing in Brussels today that, if elected, she would work to increase investment in research and innovation to 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). of the member countries of the European bloc.
Zaharieva also stated in her opening remarks that she will create a European Forum for Innovation and Research and will push for a greater role for women in these areas if she is approved as European Commissioner.
"It is a great honor for me to receive the invitation from Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen. I believe that my administrative and political experience at a high level will help me to develop my department, which is the basis of the European competition program," Zaharieva said at the beginning.
Five priorities
The Bulgarian candidate for European Commissioner announced that she has five key priorities in her mandate.
"If I am confirmed as a member of the new European Commission, I will have five key priorities. Trust and cooperation are needed to build a real European Union and innovation – the first priority will be to strengthen the European Research Area with new legislation," she said, noting that she would push for increased investment in innovation and research from 2,3 to 3% of GDP.
"27 wonderful but fragmented research strategies do not mean a European strategy," Zaharieva pointed out, emphasizing the lack of coordination between EU member states, which leads to an ineffective funding system. According to her, the European Research Council allocates only 8% of its budget to innovation.
"A comprehensive strategy for start-ups is needed," said the candidate for European Commissioner regarding his idea for the creation of a European Forum. She added that she will work with Ukrainian researchers and teachers.
Zaharieva also talked about her plan to promote the role of women in innovation, startups and science.
“As a minister, I worked to leave a lasting mark on the advancement of women. You can count on me to fight tirelessly to encourage them in research and innovation. I will present an action plan for women in research, innovation and startups, covering initiatives from women's studies to secure jobs. I will fight to achieve the presence of 50 percent of women in all boards related to "Horizon", expert groups and evaluation commissions", she stated categorically.
In addition, Zaharieva also emphasized the need to establish artificial intelligence in science.
Questions from Bulgarian MEPs
After the hearing, Ekaterina Zaharieva began to answer questions from MEPs, several of which were from Bulgarian representatives in the European Parliament.
Peter Volgin from "Europe of Sovereign Nations" asked Ekaterina Zaharieva whether there is a risk that the military economy will become a motor in the sphere entrusted to it, and how it will be able to prevent it from becoming a sphere in which war will defeat peace.
"I strongly hope that peace will conquer war. Our security depends on Ukraine winning this war. I believe that the resources and efforts that we are putting into helping Ukraine win are not wasted money for us, they are investments in our security. Ukraine is fighting for our security", replied the Bulgarian candidate for European Commissioner.
The EPP's Eva Meidel, who is also a member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, noted that Europe is a scientific superpower and supported her claim with figures, giving examples that a third of the world's scientific publications come from the EU and that the union there are a large number of Nobel Prize winners. However, Eva Meidel noted that as a continent, Europe is lagging behind in terms of competitiveness when compared to the US and China.
"Our main goal is to reach these countries. At the moment, we have about 95 billion euros for scientific research, with the most funds in the "Horizon Europe" program - over 53 billion euros", informed the Bulgarian MEP from the EPP.
She asked Ekaterina Zaharieva if she has an idea how to reorient the funding so that the European economy can create innovation and stimulate economic growth.
"The big difference between us and the US, but also Japan, as well as the countries close to us, is in private investment. Only 40% of European companies invest in research and innovation. In the USA the share is 56%, it is even higher in Japan and South Korea. Pillar 2 lacks program focus. Complex management of the Horizon Europe program and an insufficiently effective system for measuring the amount of private investment, industry's contribution to this pillar are also noted. We need a better focus, a better mechanism and tools to create an incentive for the private sector to invest in innovation and science," answered the Bulgarian candidate for European Commissioner. According to her, the EU should be more prioritized and focused.
Three questions followed from the Bulgarian MEP Tsvetelina Penkova from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, who is also the vice-chairman of the committee. She asked Ekaterina Zaharieva at what stage the EC is in preparing a definition for start-ups, what are the specific legislative initiatives to retain young entrepreneurs in Europe and, apart from the current subsidies and loans, what additional financial mechanisms can be envisaged to private investment in the innovation and technology sector is encouraged.
"Without a legal definition of what a startup is, we cannot determine the scope of this regime. An analysis needs to be done on how many companies registered in Europe will be affected. There are serious problems with product testing in the European Innovation Act. Another problem is that Europe lags behind the US in terms of public procurement," answered Ekaterina Zaharieva.
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