Portugal must remain eligible for Widening measures under the EU’s next framework programme or there is a risk of losing momentum and hampering the country’s long-term progress, says Eugénio Campos Ferreira, vice rector for research and innovation at the University of Minho.
The European Parliament is gearing up for the second round of negotiations on the EU’s plan to support domestic manufacturing of green technologies, with the next rounds of negotiations scheduled for 22 January and 6 February.
2023 has been perhaps one of the most interesting and intense years in European and international research and innovation policy. The world is grappling with the medium-term economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, growing concerns over a new technology race between the US and China and war in the Middle East.
As the EU faces mounting pressures and looks across its funding schemes to help address them, it is vital that the next framework programme is not pulled in different directions, but instead remains focussed where it will undoubtedly have the most impact: cutting-edge science and technology and research & innovation talent.
Europe is a frontrunner when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, but the lack of a wrap around industrial strategy means this is not translating to an economic benefit. As result, decarbonising is increasingly viewed only as a cost and an inconvenience, and opposition to the green agenda is mounting, according to Marc Lemaître, head of the European Commission’s research directorate general.