After giving their support at the beginning of April to the ERAvsCorona priority action plan (see EUROPE 12464/17, 12468/12), the competent European ministers reiterated on Friday 29 May their willingness to further coordinate the EU-27’s actions in the field of research and innovation (R&I).
They met by videoconference in the presence of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, the Commissioner for Innovation and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, and at the initiative of the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council. At the end of the meeting, the Presidency announced that the ministers had all stressed the need to work together to find appropriate remedies for the pandemic and to overcome the current crisis.
“Solutions can only be found in cooperation and through engagement”, said Estonian Minister of Research and Education Mailis Reps, stressing the importance of developing synergies between different EU programmes.
Many ministers also stressed the importance of sharing information and research data.
Blaženka Divjak, Minister of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia, stated that “joint coordination, data sharing, citizen involvement, investing in science, and focusing on future jobs” are among the “basic principles” for dealing with the crisis, protecting citizens, and ensuring a “sustainable and balanced” quality of life in the EU.
Key areas for recovery. Echoing Finnish Secretary of State Kimmo Tiilikainen, who believes that research and innovation will play “an important role in the recovery of the EU”, the ministers agreed that these two sectors will be key sectors for the recovery that is beginning.
When asked to explain the lessons they have learned from this crisis (see EUROPE 12495/10), they discussed in particular how to improve the governance of the European Research Area (ERA). If it is “ambitious and dynamic”, this area will be able to “play an important role" in the recovery, according to a statement by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research published at the end of the meeting.
Many ministers specified that R&I should contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal. Danish Minister Ane Halsboe, in particular, stressed that these two sectors, when deployed in the service of green solutions, could have “enormous potential to get Europe’s economy back on track”.
The ministers also stressed the need to attract additional investment in research at the regional, national, and European levels.
Finally, Germany presented the R&I priorities for the future EU Council Presidency: the main aim will be to ensure the continuation of crisis management while making progress on fronts such as synergies with other programmes, technological sovereignty, digital transformation, and the Green Deal. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)