The Lund Declaration 2009 called upon Member States and European Institutions to focus research on the grand challenges of our times by moving beyond rigid thematic approaches and aligning European and national strategies and instruments. During the last six years European institutions, member states and associated countries have taken important steps to align and coordinate resources and shift the focus towards society’s major challenges. Today Europe still faces a wide range of major challenges and business as usual is not an option. The Lund Declaration 2015 therefore emphasises the urgency of increased efforts in alignment at national and European level and that investments in research and innovation better and more rapidly be exploited to the benefit of society. It identifies four priority areas, each with defined priority actions, and calls on all stakeholders to take these priorities into account in their field of responsibility.