Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This was a co-decision procedure so effectively it involved negotiations between over 700 MEPs and, at the time, 27 member states and the Commission. One of the areas on which the Commission and the Council of Ministers, represented by myself, had a very stringent view was on the need for simplification. The process has to be simplified. The manner in which researchers and industry engage with Horizon 2020 has to be such that there is a simplification of the procedure for applications. There was a tendency for the larger research infrastructures throughout Europe to have a major administrative function built into their silos, for want of a better term, such that they had a comparative advantage over others. They were already well equipped to deal with the bureaucracy involved in the funding application process. We are creating a flat structure around that now and that is agreed politically and built into the new Horizon 2020.