The research ministers of the EU Member States met in Stockholm on Wednesday 8 February for an informal meeting on two policy debates: the digital component of research infrastructures and scientific publishing.
Sweden’s Minister for Education and Research, Mats Persson, highlighted that international competition in research and innovation is strong; other countries are investing in research and are in a race to attract talent.
Minister Persson added that research infrastructure is an important component of research and that Europe has invested a lot in research infrastructure in recent years.
The ministers want to optimise the use of data generated by research infrastructures in order to improve European competitiveness. The minister said there was room for improvement in data sharing to enable rapid scientific advances and social benefits for all.
The European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, wants data to be ‘FAIR’ (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) from the moment it is created and for its use to be extended to non-specialists, public authorities and private operators. The Commissioner highlighted that access to research infrastructures and open data is promoted through the Horizon Europe programme and facilitated by the European Open Science Cloud.
To ensure that the European legislative and regulatory frameworks on copyright and data are adapted to current needs, the Commissioner announced that the European Commission is finalising the identification of barriers, impacts and possible actions.
Finally, the Commissioner welcomed the fact that 400 organisations have already signed the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment.
Radka Wildova, Director General at the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, stressed that the interest in research infrastructures was a common priority, especially of the three-Presidency team of the Council of the European Union.
For Ms Wildova, the digitisation of research infrastructures and the issue of digital research data are closely linked to strategic EU policies for the digital transition.
In her view, the Covid-19 pandemic has shown how crucial it is to step up European sharing and communication efforts when it comes to research and innovation capacities across scientific disciplines throughout the EU. This will avoid duplication, strengthen cooperation and accelerate capacity building to find common solutions to common challenges.
Claire Giry, Director General for Research and Innovation at the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, welcomed the ministers’ shared commitment to strengthening scientific data management in accordance with the FAIR principles.
With regard to the debate on scientific publications, Ms Wildova said that the ministers wanted the results of European research to be available, accessible to ensure the quality of academic publications, and that this was an excellent way of enhancing research and strengthening innovation ecosystems.
Ms Giry stressed the importance of the EU and Member States developing their capacities in coordination with all public and private actors to take into account the specific challenges of each sector and the different business models of scientific publishing.
She recalled that the conclusions on research assessment adopted under the French Presidency of the EU Council included a section dedicated to the European approach and capacities in the field of scientific publishing, and she welcomed the fact that concrete work would continue under the Swedish Presidency.
Mats Persson announced that EU Council conclusions on open science are expected in May and that a declaration on research infrastructures will be issued in mid-June at the time of the conference on the subject to be held in Sweden. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)