The Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU wants to “advance a balanced and competitive European research and innovation framework that advances excellence and closes innovation gaps”.
R&I is “vital for boosting the EU’s global competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy”, it said in its programme. It hopes to make progress in the negotiations on the Horizon Europe 2028-2034 framework programme, which began under the Danish Presidency (see EUROPE 13769/9). It will focus on supporting cutting-edge research and simplifying funding instruments. The Presidency also wants to make progress on initiatives that facilitate the growth of innovative companies, improve access to finance and create favourable conditions, in particular the future ‘European Innovation Act’, which the European Commission will present in the first quarter (see EUROPE 13679/33).
Cyprus wants to encourage innovation ecosystems, supported by digital technologies, in particular artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and data infrastructures (see EUROPE 13709/7, 13769/8), in line with the Strategy for startups and scaleups (see EUROPE 13720/13).
Cyprus also plans to fine-tune the instruments supporting the traditional sectors of the European economy with a view to facilitating the green transition and strengthening the EU’s resilience and security, by negotiating a revision of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel.
Finally, it will emphasise the importance of international partnerships, promoting science diplomacy in line with the Global Gatewayinitiative and the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 (see EUROPE 13721/32).
To see the Presidency’s priorities: https://aeur.eu/f/k4d (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)