THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS  calls for a return to innovation and research as one of the top priorities in the debate on the future of Europe and the priorities set out in the Rome Declaration, for the horizontal governance of research, innovation and training issues within the EU to be strengthened, and for the EU's overall fiscal effort in the area of R&I to be stepped up across each of these policies, within the current and the next MFF. In this overall context, and in line with the European Parliament's draft report and the report of the independent High Level Group on maximising the impact of EU Research and Innovation Programmes, the budget for the framework programme should be considerably increased to at least maintain the growth momentum of the current framework programme. In any event, the necessary promotion of R&I must not undermine the importance of cohesion policy, which remains the EU's key financing tool for achieving economic and social cohesion and convergence between its cities and regions;  is disappointed that halfway through its term, Horizon 2020 is undermined by low participation among the EU-13 countries, and points to the differences in participation at regional and local level. It is important to make the framework programme – and not just cohesion policy – work across all the Union's cities and regions so as to support the best pioneers of excellence and ensure their access to European collaborative efforts;  considers it necessary to clarify the debate on synergies and proposes five operational principles that could be shared between the EU, the Member States, the regions and cities;  calls for a new collective ambition that focuses not only on scientific excellence in Europe but also on scientific excellence and the innovation capacity of Europe as a whole, by tapping into the full potential of all its cities and regions, helping to strengthen their capacities and promoting open and collaborative innovation;  would like the framework programme to do more to strengthen regional innovation hubs and ecosystems, with more support for technology transfer networks, and for a new "territorial connections" action to be set up to recognise and fund regional excellence networks through the framework programme.