The EU ministers responsible for research, meeting on Friday 10 June in the Council of the EU in its ‘Competitiveness’ configuration, specified the values and principles that should underpin international cooperation in research and innovation.
In the conclusions adopted on 26 November last year on a Pact for Research and Innovation, the Council recommended that the Member States apply a set of values and principles for research and innovation in the EU.
In their conclusions adopted on Friday, the ministers state that international cooperation must be based on, among other things, scientific freedom, gender equality, the fight against discrimination, excellence in research and the protection and respect of intellectual and industrial property rights, and must be geared towards the common good.
“The European Commission and the Member States will have to promote these principles and values as part of a multilateral dialogue which must involve the main international partners”, announced the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, Sylvie Retailleau, who chaired the Council.
The European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, welcomed the launch of this dialogue next month under the auspices of the Commission, in coordination with the Member States and the dedicated sub-group of the Education and Research Space Forum.
As an annex to these conclusions, the EU Council adopted a statement on the impact of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine for research and innovation, in which it condemned the Russian military aggression and highlighted aspects of the response adopted by the EU to support Ukrainian research and researchers. “Europe must remain the home of scientific freedom”, stressed Commissioner Gabriel.
Link to the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/223
Link to the Council statement on Russian military aggression against Ukraine and its impact on R&I: https://aeur.eu/f/225 (Original version in French by Emilie Vanderhulst)