European Court of Auditors

A three-year pilot programme designed to lay the ground for the EU’s first move into funding defence R&D did not fulfil its purpose. A more strategic approach is needed to ensure research is translated into new defence technologies

Synergies between the EU’s research programmes and money for research channelled through regional funds should be helping bridge the east-west divide in R&I, but gaps in regulation and lack of know-how on the ground are hindering progress  

Despite the auditors’ warning, managers of the fusion energy project say Russia is currently sticking to its commitments, with a giant magnet dispatched from St Petersburg earlier this month

The EU succeeded in creating a portfolio of vaccines and procuring enough doses to go round, but contracts did not make provisions for disruptions to supplies