On Tuesday 19 September, Diana Morant Ripoll, Spain’s Minister for Science and Innovation, met MEPs from the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) to discuss the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, priorities that had already been set out in a written document (see EUROPE 13230/4).
At the top of the list of priorities, Ms Morant Ripoll reaffirmed Spain’s ambition to drive forward discussions on a European framework for scientific diplomacy. For the first time, this issue will be the subject of a conference on 18 and 19 December in Madrid.
In this context, the Presidency wishes to support the PRIMA programme, a partnership partly financed by Horizon Europe to support R&I in the Mediterranean region, particularly in the search for innovative solutions to societal challenges concerning water, agriculture and food.
A mandate to negotiate with the European Parliament with a view to strengthening PRIMA and extending its active phase until 2027 was approved by the ambassadors of the Member States to the EU on Wednesday 20 September.
See the Council of the EU's negotiation mandate: https://aeur.eu/f/8oa
The Minister then announced the EU Council’s conclusions on the need to analyse the impact on research and innovation (R&I) of the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’, the main instrument of the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan. For the Minister, this funding, in addition to traditional funding, has enabled a qualitative leap forward and has had a positive impact on the European Research Area. The analysis of the Facility’s impact could be used to try to pass on this impact to other mechanisms in the future.
Still on the subject of science in international relations, and responding to Martin Hojsík (Renew Europe, Slovak), Diana Morant Ripoll spoke about European space initiatives. The Minister emphasised the usefulness of space policies for both the green and digital transitions, as well as for European security and defence.
She indicated that Spain wanted to build bridges with European allies on the international stage, and in particular to work with Latin America. The minister said that the CELAC community could participate in the Copernicus programme and affirmed that the Member States were keen to set up bilateral cooperation programmes. European ministers and ESA representatives, as well as ministers from Latin American countries, will be in Seville for European Space Week 2023.
The Minister also felt that the industry needed to be more clearly involved.
For her part, Pilar del Castillo Vera (EPP, Spanish) expressed her concern at the lack of progress made on the European Commission’s proposal to support the careers of researchers (see EUROPE 13222/23) as the Spanish Presidency reached the half-way stage.
The Minister is hoping for progress at the ‘Competitiveness’ Council meeting on research on 8 December.
A number of MEPs, including Jordi Solé (Greens/EFA, Spanish) and Lina Gálvez Muñoz (S&D, Spanish), expressed their concerns about the persistence of national and regional disparities in R&I in Europe.
The Minister shared this view and indicated her interest in coupling more innovative regions with others that were less so.
Finally, Martina Dlabajová (Renew Europe, Czech) raised the issue of budgetary resources for R&I and expressed concern about the cuts envisaged by certain Member States in the resources allocated to research, resources already affected by inflation and the redirection of funds from the Horizon Europe budget to new European priorities.
The Minister indicated that discussions were underway on the mid-term review of the multiannual budgetary framework within the EU Council and that she did not have the authority to provide MEPs with information on the legislative process underway or the positions of the Member States. She stated that the Presidency would do its utmost to preserve the objectives and prerogatives of Horizon Europe. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)