This Green Paper launches a public debate on the key issues to be taken into account for future EU research and innovation funding programmes. Delivering on the widely supported Europe 20201 objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth depends on research and innovation as key drivers of social and economic prosperity and of environmental sustainability. This is why the European Union has set itself, in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy, the objective to increase spending on R&D to reach 3 % GDP by 2020.