On Wednesday 12 September, the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council sent Member States a revised proposal for conclusions on strengthening the role and impact of research and innovation (R&I) in the European policy-making process, with a view to the meeting of the ‘Research’ working group on 21 September.
Greater emphasis is being placed on mobilising all fields of science and all Member States to produce high-quality scientific knowledge on which to base decision-making processes and public policies.
The new text also places emphasis not only on assessing the scientific knowledge needs of public authorities, but also on the needs of scientists and innovators.
In addition, the Presidency proposes to specify that robust R&I ecosystems facilitate the development of technologies and innovation, including social innovation, which have a significant social, economic and environmental impact. The references to social innovation and environmental impact are new proposals.
The new text includes encouragement for citizen participation.
The Spanish Presidency not only proposes to emphasise that scientific knowledge and advice to support evidence-based policy-making should be reliable, verifiable, relevant and transparent, but also introduces references to respect for scientific freedom, integrity and ethics.
In addition, the Presidency invites the Member States to insist on taking account of the regional level and on the need for cooperation between regions that are more efficient and less efficient in terms of R&I.
Finally, the Presidency proposes to slightly modify the wording of the invitation to the European Commission to complete the mid-term evaluation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility by introducing an R&I dimension.
However, in this context, it is proposing to remove the incentive for Member States to identify persistent bottlenecks in their R&I systems and to strengthen reform efforts.
Link to text: https://aeur.eu/f/8j5 (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)