Horizon Europe is well underway, but the world of European R&D policy goes well beyond the confines of the €95.5 billion R&D programme. EU climate, digital, agriculture and regional policies all have significant research and innovation components. National governments often come up with new R&D policies, decide to fund new research avenues, and set up international cooperation deals. This blog aims to keep you informed on all of that and more.
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The EU should increase the effectiveness of its funding and support for Western Balkans in education, research and innovation, according to a statement issued last week by the joint science conference of the Berlin Process.
The Berlin Process was set up in 2014 as a platform to increase cooperation between the six Western Balkans countries, the host countries of the Berlin Process, and the EU.
According to a joint statement released lasty week after the 8th annual conference on the science, education, research and innovation pillar of the Berlin Process, the EU should launch a dedicated Western Balkans facility for skills, research and innovation. “This facility would pool funding and instruments from various EU programmes, such as the Framework Programme and theInstrument for Pre-accession Assistance.”
The joint statement also calls for a dedicated research fund that would foster research excellence and mitigate brain drain in the Western Balkans. “The establishment of this fund would be transformative for the Western Balkans, comparable to the impact of the European Research Council on European science,” the statement says.
The full statement is available here.
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has announced a new platform where researchers, innovators and companies can submit and consult data and information on innovative clean, zero-carbon and circular technologies.
The platform is meant to be a single and transparent information point that allows industry, technology providers, research and technology organisations, national authorities policymakers, and financial actors to both share and access valuable data and information on ongoing or planned innovative processes and technologies, the JRC said.
Read more about the platform here.
Formal negotiations between the EU and Egypt on association to Horizon Europe have started, the European Commission has announced.
The negotiations will continue in the "coming weeks and months" and "may lead" to Egypt's association in the EU research and innovation programme, the Commission said.
The announcement comes more than six months after Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Cairo and signed a joint declaration on "a strategic and comprehensive partnership" between the EU and Egypt.
If successful, association to Horizon Europe would place Egyptian entities on par with those of EU Member States, allowing them to directly access funding and coordinate projects.
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is pushing for a more ambitious budget for the EU's upcoming research framework programme, FP10, due to start in 2028.
Regional and local leaders stress the need for FP10 to prioritise local innovation ecosystems and enhance collaboration with cohesion funds for equitable investment distribution across European regions.
The CoR, the first EU body to adopt a position on FP10, called for a significant budget increase, arguing that the current funding model requires an additional €25 billion annually to support all eligible projects effectively.
They also stressed the importance of a place-based approach and stronger citizen engagement in implementing FP10, suggesting that municipalities and regions should act as strategic partners to maximize the programme’s impact.
"Widening participation in the next Framework Programme for research and innovation by prioritising a place-based approach that allows regions less advanced in R&I to get onboard ultimately strengthens the European Research Area overall and the EU's global competitiveness. Regions and cities are key enablers in this regard," said rapporteur Anne Besnie.
More details here.
Regional and local leaders are advocating for the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act to enhance start-ups' and SMEs' access to supercomputing resources and flexible funding for ethical AI development.
The group says the EU needs to bring down bureaucracy and foster innovation through increased transparency and agile financing during the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) plenary session on Wednesday. They also highlighted the importance of local authorities in building trustworthy AI ecosystems and proposed including local representatives in the EU's AI decision-making bodies.
“We need to shift our policy-making focus from attempting to restrict it (AI) to learn how to benefit from it,” said rapporteur Emil Boc.
More here.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) researcher David Baker has won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, marking the 19th time an MSCA grantee has received the award since 2010.
Baker was recognised by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for his work in computational protein design.
“The EU is happy to have funded his work and allowed excellent researchers to develop their skills and career under his guidance through Horizon Europe’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions,” said research commissioner Iliana Ivanova. “We are committed to fostering cutting-edge research that benefits both Europe and the global community.”
More details here.
This month, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator programme under Horizon Europe received a record-breaking 1,211 applications from start-ups and SMEs.
The total budget requested in funding is €8.875 billion, with 32% of the proposals submitted by women-led businesses, and applicants represented 35 countries, with Germany, Israel, and France contributing the most.
Successful candidates will pitch to a jury in January 2025, with final funding decisions expected by February.
More here.
The European Commission has signed today an agreement worth €20 million with the French biopharmaceutical company Fabentech.
The investment will be routed through the EU's Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and the European Investment Bank, and will help Fabentech develop and deploy its broad-spectrum therapeutics to combat biological threats to public health.
The agreement is the first in its kind under HERA Invest. More investments are in the pipeline with other European companies, with the goal to stimulate innovation to respond to priority health threats, such as pathogens with high pandemic potential, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats, and resistance to antibiotics.
More details here.
The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved funding for seven new research units and one new centre for advanced studies, focusing on topics ranging from road vehicle automation to transformations in the labour market.
These projects will receive a total investment worth €39 million for their first funding period, which will last up to eight years.
More here.
Switzerland and Spain held their first joint meeting on science and innovation in Bern last week, aiming to strengthen collaboration in research and innovation.
Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to continue working closely, with the Swiss National Science Foundation and Spain's Agencia Estatal de Investigación launching a new “lead agency” agreement.
The meeting builds on a memorandum of understanding signed in 2023.
Led by Swiss state secretary for education, research and innovation Martina Hirayama and Spanish secretary general for research Eva Ortega-Paíno, this year’s meeting highlighted successful joint efforts, with the two countries working together in over 670 collaborative projects under Horizon Europe.
More details here.
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