On 23 August, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union finalised draft conclusions on research infrastructures for the Research Working Party meeting on 6 September.
The Presidency stresses the importance of realising the potential of research and innovation (R&I) ecosystems and fostering open access to them in order to provide science-based solutions to societal challenges (health, digital transition, crisis response, implementation of the European Open Science Cloud - EOSC). The Presidency underlines the impact of the development of R&I for the industrial sector.
It also recognises the need for a better distribution of R&I ecosystems within the EU and the development of regionally anchored R&I through smart specialisation strategies.
The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) is invited to assess the economic and social benefits of investments in R&I used by Member States, the European Commission and international organisations and to identify best practices in this field, develop and pilot an evaluation methodology and framework and elaborate guidelines for the end of 2023 while informing the European Research Area Forum of its activities.
In its draft conclusions, the Presidency encourages Member States and the European Commission to support the consolidation of Europe’s R&I ecosystems and national data infrastructures. Member States are also encouraged to federate their regional and national data infrastructures into a European Data Infrastructure.
Finally, in these draft conclusions, the Presidency invites the European Commission to present a draft revision of the European Charter on Access to Research Infrastructures and to present an initiative on the future of the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) framework by the end of 2023.
Link to the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/2tv (Original version in French by Emilie Vanderhulst)