On Thursday 29 June, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union published draft conclusions on strengthening the role and impact of research and innovation (R&I) in European policymaking.
In its draft conclusions, the Presidency stresses the importance of science in the process of developing public policies to improve the lives of citizens and strengthen democracy.
The Presidency also proposes to include the fact that science and knowledge based on robust data should play a greater role in the policy-making process.
In addition, the document mentions the fact that, in order to strengthen European competitiveness and the implementation of European policies, the European Research Area (ERA) requires a robust R&I ecosystem, fostering high-quality scientific knowledge, policies of open access to data and publications, and the development of technologies and innovations with a high social and economic impact.
In this respect, open access to publicly funded R&I publications and data was one of the Swedish Presidency’s R&I priorities. On 23 May, the Ministers adopted conclusions on ‘High quality, transparent, open, trustworthy and equitable scholarly publishing’ (see EUROPE 13186/4).
The project also highlights the need for more sustained and coordinated R&I funding at both EU and Member State level.
In addition, the proposal mentions the need to improve the EU’s ability to engage with international partners in R&I cooperation and to pursue, on the world stage, the concept of European open strategic autonomy.
Finally, the document puts forward a series of recommendations, namely addressed to the European Commission, to enhance and promote the concept of ‘Science for Policy’.
The text is due to be examined by the EU Council’s working party on 11 July.
Link to the document: https://aeur.eu/f/7ur (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)