On Monday 29 January, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union forwarded to the delegations of the Member States a new set of draft conclusions on the exploitation of research results in Europe, one of the Presidency’s priorities in the area of research and innovation (R&I) (see EUROPE 13321/6). The text will be examined by the EU Council working group on Monday 5 February.
The text includes new wording compared with the first draft (see EUROPE 13325/5), as well as new content.
In these draft conclusions, the Presidency stresses the need to consider synergies when designing the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
In the new text, the Presidency wished to emphasise the importance of the interconnection of R&I stakeholders, not only for efficiency purposes, but also as an instrument for bridging the innovation gap.
Emphasis is also placed on the strategic importance of public-private cooperation in the process of harnessing knowledge.
With regard to R&I players’ access to risk financing and the increase in private and public seed and growth capital, the Presidency proposes that the Commission and the EU Council explore new possibilities, but also avoid adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. The Commission is also invited to improve its knowledge of public procurement of innovation in the Member States.
The role of research infrastructures is highlighted, alongside technological infrastructures, in the exploitation of knowledge. In this context, the Belgian Presidency proposes to focus on critical and emerging technologies. In this context, the Presidency proposes to invite the Commission to present concrete proposals on the EU’s mapping and strategy for technological infrastructures by mid-2025.
Link to the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/aoq (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)