Earlier this month, the European Research Council (ERC) announced its 2018 grant competitions with a total budget of around €1.86 billion, most of which earmarked for early- to mid-career researchers. In addition, the ERC is reintroducing Synergy Grants, the funding scheme for groups of two to four scientists who jointly address ambitious research problems.
The Work Programme includes all the well-known and established ERC funding schemes: Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants, as well as Proof of Concept Grants for ERC grantees who wish to explore the innovation potential of their research results. What is new is the Synergy Grants scheme. Building on the experience of the 2012 and 2013 pilot competitions, the ERC Scientific Council decided to reintroduce Synergy Grants for groups of two to four excellent principal investigators. The grants may be awarded for up to €10 million for 6 years. The ultimate goal of the scheme is to give support to close collaborative interactions that will enable transformative research, cross-fertilizing disciplines and capable of yielding ground-breaking scientific results.
The first 2018 grant competitions are already open, the other competitions will follow, according to the indicative calendar.
The conclusions of the workshop Glyphosate: Harmless Tool or Sneaky Poison? are now available online. Among other, the conclusions call for more research regarding maximum daily intake of glyphosate, to develop standard methods for reliable measurements, or to increase transparency through the funding of dossiers submitted to ECHA/EFSA. The conclusions and other materials from this event can be found online at http://www.euchems.eu/?p=8910. This workshop was co-organised by MEP Pavel Poc, EuCheMS and the ECTN earlier this year at the European Parliament.
The European Research Council (ERC) recently participated in the 11th edition of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC), held in Dalian, China. ERC President Prof. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon and 10 ERC grantees discussed the latest scientific findings during several sessions and a press conference. The AMNC, organised by the World Economic Forum and also known as Summer Davos, is one of the main global events on science, technology and innovation. It gathers top researchers and leaders from fast growing enterprises, government, media and civil society from over 90 countries. The 2017 edition addressed the topic “Achieving Inclusive Growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) Data Catalogue is an online platform which provides scientists, policy makers, data journalists and other users quick access to science data on a wide range of topics. The JRC Data Catalogue is an open-access online inventory of data produced by JRC researchers. It currently contains 1629 datasets from 44 dataset collections. The catalogue is updated regularly and feeds into the EU Open Data Portal, which is the single point of access to a growing range of data produced by the EU institutions.
The Western Balkans Regional Economic Area (WBREA) aims at developing an area where goods, services, investments and skilled workers can move without obstacles. This WBREA will be put into operation through a multiannual action plan, endorsed by the Western Balkans leaders at the Trieste Summit on 12 July 2017. The action plan comprises four dimensions: trade, investment, mobility and digital market. On the dimension of mobility, the parties agreed to remove obstacles to mobility of professionals, through regional mutual recognition agreements of professional qualifications and to remove obstacles to mobility of students, researchers and academics.
World´s biggest 20 economies, the Group of 20 (G20), recently met in Germany to, among other topics, discuss global warming. In a joint declaration, the Leaders of G20 countries, apart from the United States of America, agreed that the Paris Agreement is irreversible and that its implementation should move swiftly. G20 also approved an Action plan on marine litter where G20 countries defined priorities and potential policy measures.
The European University Association (EUA) has published a position paper advocating for more ambitious EU funding for research and innovation (R&I) in Europe after Horizon-2020. The paper reiterates the strategic importance of fostering a united and prosperous knowledge-based society in Europe. According to the position paper, Horizon 2020 is significantly underfunded, despite its high-impact on society and economy, with EUA advocating for a quantitative and qualitative increase in EU research funding. The paper also suggests opening a discussion on a possible ring-fencing or shift of funding from European Structural and Investment Funds or other sources for a more ambitious and well-functioning research programme. The paper aims to contribute to the upcoming discussion on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the next EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP9).
The European Commission has announced the selection of 38 new Erasmus Mundus joint master degree programmes. These new programmes cover a wide range of areas, including the chemical sciences. Together they involve 186 partner universities and almost 600 associate organisations, also representing the world of work, from 84 different countries. These and other Erasmus Mundus programmes will be offering EU-funded scholarships to students from all over the world to start a master programme in autumn 2018.
Earlier this month, Member States representatives voted in favour of the European Commission’s proposal on scientific criteria to identify endocrine disruptors in the field of plant protection products. The adopted criteria will provide a stepping stone for further actions to protect health and the environment by enabling the Commission to start working on a new strategy to minimise exposure of EU citizens to endocrine disruptors, beyond pesticides and biocides. The strategy will aim to cover for example toys, cosmetics and food packaging. In parallel, a substantive new research on endocrine disruptors with an important budget of approximately 50 million euro will be allocated in 2018 to around 10 projects in the next Horizon 2020 work programme.
The European Commission has presented on 29 June a new action plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The action plan is underpinned by a “one health” approach that addresses resistance in both humans and animals. Overall, the action plan contains more 75 actions built on three main pillars: 1) Making the EU a best-practice region; 2) Boosting research, development and innovation; and 3): Shaping the global agenda. More concretely, the Commission will, for example, support the research into the development of new antimicrobials and alternative products; support the establishment of a European-wide sustainable clinical research network; continue to support research into the development of new effective preventive vaccines; and support the establishment of a virtual research institute. The Commission has already adopted the first deliverable of the plan, EU Guidelines on the prudent use of antimicrobials in human health. AMR is a growing threat that is responsible for 25,000 deaths and a loss of €1.5 billion in the EU every year. EuCheMS has provided input on this topic at a STOA event organised (by STOA, EuCheMS and EFMC) last year at the European Parliament.
Existing EU rules on fertilisers cover mainly conventional fertilisers, typically extracted from mines or manufactured with high energy-consumption and CO2 production. Diverging national rules make it difficult for producers of organic fertilisers to sell and use them across the EU single market. The European Parliament Internal Market Committee (IMCO) has recently agreed on amendments to the new draft regulation on fertilisers. The adoption of the proposed amendments would, among others, promote the use of recycled materials for producing fertilisers, thus helping the development of the circular economy; ease market access for innovative, organic fertilisers, which would give farmers and consumers a wider choice and promote green innovation; and establish EU-wide quality, safety and environmental criteria for “CE marked” fertilisers (i.e. those which can be traded in the whole EU single market). The European Parliament plenary session will vote on these IMCO proposed changes in October.
Estonia will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second semester of 2017. Under the motto “unity through balance”, the Estonian Programme prioritises, among other, the implementation of the Paris Agreement against climate change, the negotiations of the Waste Package, the adoption of Council conclusions on eco-innovation, or the amendment of the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive. The Presidency will also focus on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by fostering an expert-level discussion on how to assess AMR action plans. In the field of research, the programme states that “excellent research is an investment in the future” and thus Estonia intends to initiate a discussion on how to simplify the research and innovation partnering instruments, funded from the Framework Programme, and to support the participation of newcomers.
Earlier this month, the conference “Research & Innovation – Shaping our Future”, hosted by Research, Science and Innovation Commissioner Carlos Moedas, brought together policymakers from EU institutions, nearly 700 stakeholders, including EuCheMS to discuss the role of research and innovation for Europe’s future. Using the Commission’s White Paper on the future of Europe as a starting point, participants discussed how research and innovation could transform the European Economy and improve society. The conference also looked beyond Horizon 2020 and discussed the future of EU Research & Innovation Programmes with the High Level Group on maximising the impact of EU Research & Innovation Programmes proposing 11 actions, including to double the budget of post Horizon 2020 Programme. Materials from the conference, including Commissioner Carlos Moedas´ speech, can be found in the link below.
EuCheMS has recently submitted its feedback on the European Commission´s draft Regulation on Establishing Mitigation Measures and Benchmark Levels for the Reduction of the Presence of Acrylamide in Food. According to the European Food Safety Authority, this chemical, that naturally forms in starchy food products during every-day high-temperature cooking, potentially increases the risk of developing cancer for consumers in all age groups.
EuCheMS has recently published its position on Research and Education Without Borders After Brexit. In this position EuCheMS highlights that research and industrial competitiveness across the EU greatly benefit from the input of UK researchers and vice versa. Thus, withdrawal of the UK from the many funding schemes would remove some of the key quality drivers and fundamentally damage research and innovation in Europe as well as in the United Kingdom. As negotiations proceed to determine the relationship between the EU and the UK following the latter’s withdrawal, EU scientists urge the negotiators to retain as strong as possible a relationship between EU and UK researchers. Continued collaboration without borders will improve research across all European countries for the benefit of mankind.
The European Research Council (ERC) announced 51 ERC grant holders who will receive top-up funding to explore the commercial or innovation potential of the results of their EU funded research. Among other chemistry-related projects, there is one named “Scanner for novel chemical reactions and facebook of chemistry”, lead by Alexander Nesterov-Mueller (Karlsruher Institut für Tecnologie – KIT). Proof of Concept grants, worth €150,000 each and open to ERC grant holders, can be used, for example, to establish intellectual property rights, investigate business opportunities or conduct technical validation. Source: https://erc.europa.eu/
This overview, produced by Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), comprehends a series of documents that describe existing legal frameworks, policies in place as well as legislative developments and provide key statistical data of higher education systems. Documents were drafted by the national Erasmus+ offices present in five regions, Western Balkans (region 1), Eastern Partnership countries (Region 2), South-Mediterranean countries (Region 3), Russian Federation (Region 4) and Central Asia (Region 7), in cooperation with the competent national authorities. Source: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/
The Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) prize winners were announced at the MSCA 2017 Presidency Conference, “Mobility takes research further” in May by Director-General, Education and Culture of the European Commission Martine Reicherts. The winners were Dr. Kristina Bliznakova, in the category “Contribution to a Better Society” with her research on breast cancer screening; Dr. Chiara Mingarelli in “Communicating Science” for her work on gravitational waves; and Dr. Adam Celiz in “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” for his work on regenerative medicine and tissue engineering applications. Source: https://ec.europa.eu/
The European Union and China agreed to boost their research and innovation cooperation under Horizon 2020 with a new package of initiatives targeting the areas of food, agriculture and biotechnologies, environment and sustainable urbanisation, surface Transport, safer and greener aviation, and biotechnologies for environment and human health, fields in which chemistry plays a crucial role. This is one of the outcomes of the 3rd EU-China Innovation Co-operation Dialogue, organised earlier this in the margins of the 19th EU-China Summit, and co-chaired by Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, and Wan Gang, China’s Minister of Science and Technology. Source: http://ec.europa.eu/
On 19 May 2017, the Council of the European Union agreed on a negotiating mandate to start negotiations with the European Parliament on all four legislative proposals on waste, which are part of the Circular economy package submitted by the Commission by the end of 2015. Before these proposals are approved both the European Parliament and the Council must give their green light. Negotiations for an agreement are expected to focus on a number of outstanding elements, including the definitions, the setting of binding targets and their calculation rules, end-of-waste criteria, extended producer responsibility schemes and waste prevention. EuCheMS has organised two circular economy related workshops – From Waste to Health and Protecting Endangered Elements. Source: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/
The American Chemical Society (ACS) has recently expressed its disappointment regarding the plans to withdraw the United Stated of America from the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Society asks that this and future administrations reconsider this decision. The agreement, signed by 197 countries in 2015 and ratified by 147, is needed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and mitigate and adapt to climate change. According to ACS Executive Director and CEO Thomas Connelly Jr., “Climate change represents a real and current threat to our economy, health and welfare”. Source: https://www.acs.org/
The Council of the European Union has agreed on a general approach to reform the system of type-approval and market surveillance for motor vehicles. This major reform will modernise the current system, adapt it to new technologies available on the market and improve control tests on car emissions data, a process in which analytical chemistry takes part. All member states agreed to improve the harmonised implementation of the rules across the EU so as to reduce the possible differences in interpretation and application by national type-approval authorities and technical services. They also agreed that more effective market surveillance rules should apply to better detect non-compliance at an early stage. Source: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/
The European Commission has adopted earlier this month new initiatives on school and higher education. The overall aim of these initiatives is to help Member States provide high quality and inclusive education for all young people through a series of concrete actions, so they acquire the knowledge and skills needed to participate fully in society, are able to respond to new opportunities and challenges opened up by for instance globalisation and technological change, and can tailor their education to the needs of the labour market. This package of initiatives includes a proposal on graduate tracking to help Member States collect information on what graduates do after their studies, an important indicator to analyse labour market needs which EuCheMS has recently collected in the field of chemistry and is currently being analysed under the 2nd Employment Survey for European Chemists. Source: http://europa.eu/
The European Parliament has given its support to the Partnership on Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA), an initiative aiming to develop much-needed solutions for a more sustainable management of water and agro-food systems. The main objective of the ten-year initiative (2018 – 2028), which is partly funded by EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, is to develop solutions to improve water availability and sustainable agriculture production in a region heavily distressed by climate change, urbanisation and population growth. The partnership currently consists of 19 participating countries: Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. Source: http://ec.europa.eu/
In a non-legislative resolution, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) presented their assessment of the Horizon 2020 programme in which they state that H2020 must be primarily grant-based, that no more cuts should be made to the programme and that ‘excellence’ should remain the essential evaluation criterion while ‘impact’ should include economic and social effects. The resolution also included some recommendations for 9th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP9). Recommendations include an increased overall budget of EUR 120 billion for FP9; the reintroduction of the two stage evaluation; separation of defence research from civil research in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (in which EU budget is broadly defined), providing two different programs with two different budgets; and priority to funding for climate change research. Source: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/
