Following an initial proposal (see EUROPE 13249/31) and the work of the Swedish Presidency (see EUROPE 13213/17), the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council sent the delegations of the Member States, on Thursday 5 October, a revised draft of the EU Council conclusions on strengthening the role and impact of research and innovation (R&I) in the EU’s policy-making process. The adoption of these conclusions is one of the priorities of the Spanish Presidency (see EUROPE 13254/15, 13230/4).
The Spanish Presidency is committed to reducing the disparities in R&I performance and participation between European regions and States (see EUROPE 13254/15) and proposes, in particular, in the new text, to emphasise the need for increased, coordinated and targeted funding, at European and national level, to reduce this fragmentation and strengthen R&I capacities throughout the EU. The proposal emphasises the strong regional and national dimension of R&I ecosystems.
It also highlights the importance of the ‘Recovery and Resilience Facility’ (RRF), in the context of public policy development, for strengthening Europe’s capacity to respond to and prepare for crises and for preparing Europe’s future.
In addition, the Spanish Presidency proposes to highlight that, within the framework of the recommendations of the ‘European Semester’ budgetary process, the RRF has enabled several Member States to develop new investments and reforms based on scientific evidence, as a complement to other types of investments and reforms.
It also proposes emphasising the importance of including the best available scientific data in impact assessments in order to support the political decision-making process, in line with the principles of ‘Better Regulation’.
Finally, the Presidency wants to promote women’s research, careers and expertise in science policy.
The text will be examined by the EU Council’s Working Party on Research on Thursday 12 October.
Link to the project: https://aeur.eu/f/8xt (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)