L 347/104 Official Journal of the European Union 20.12.2013 REGULATION (EU) No 1291/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 December 2013 establishing Horizon 2020 - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) and repealing Decision No 1982/2006/EC (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Articles 173(3) and 182(1) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ('), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (3), Whereas: (1) It is the Union’s objective to strengthen its scientific and technological bases by achieving a European Research Area ("ERA") in which researchers, scientific knowledge and technology circulate freely, and by encouraging the Union to advance towards a knowledge society and to become a more competitive and sustainable economy in respect of its industry. To pursue that objective the Union should carry out activities to implement research, technological development, demonstration and innovation, promote international cooperation, disseminate and optimise results and stimulate training and mobility. (2) It is also the Union’s objective to ensure that the conditions necessary for the competitiveness of Union () O] C 181, 21.6.2012, p. 111. () OJ C 277, 13.9.2012, p. 143. (®) Position of the European Parliament of 21 November 2013 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 3 December 2013. industry exist. For this purpose, action should be aimed at fostering better exploitation of the industrial potential of policies of innovation, research and technological development. (3)  The Union is committed to achieving the Europe 2020 strategy which set the objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, highlighting the role of research and innovation as key drivers of social and economic pros- perity and of environmental sustainability and setting itself the goal of increasing spending on research and development in order to attract private investment of up to two thirds of total investments, thereby reaching an accumulative total of 3 % of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020 while developing an innovation intensity indicator. The general budget of the Union should mirror this ambitious goal by making a shift towards funding future-oriented investments, such as research, devel- opment and innovation. In this context, the flagship initiative 'Innovation Union' of the Europe 2020 strategy sets out a strategic and integrated approach to research and innovation, setting the framework and objectives to which future Union research and innovation funding should contribute. Research and innovation are also key factors for other flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy, notably 'Resource-efficient Europe', 'An industrial policy for the globalisation era’, and 'Digital Agenda for Europe', and other policy objec- tives, such as climate and energy policy. Moreover, for achieving the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy relating to research and innovation, cohesion policy has a key role to play through capacity-building and providing a stairway to excellence. (4 The Commission Communication of 19 October 2010 entitled "The EU Budget Review" put forward key prin- ciples which should underpin the future general budget of the Union, namely focusing on instruments with proven Union added value, becoming more results- driven and leveraging other public and private sources of funding. It also proposed to bring the full range of Union instruments for research and innovation together in a common strategic framework. (5)  The European Parliament called for the radical simplifi- cation of Union research and innovation funding in its resolution of 11 November 2010 (¥, highlighted the importance of the Innovation Union to transform Europe for the post-crisis world in its resolution of (*) O] C 74 E, 13.3.2012, p. 34.