MEP Dan Nica was appointed by the Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) committee to act as Rapporteur on the Framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem (Chips Act). The position of Shadow Rapporteur will be filled by MEP Eva Maydell.
You can read more about MEP Dan Nica here, and MEP Eva Maydell here.
The Chips Act for which they are preparing reports is a set of measures that aims to ensure Europe’s technological leadership in semiconductor technologies, introduced as a response to the global chip shortages of 2021. On 31 March, Executive Vice-President Margaret Vestager participated in the ITRE committee meeting in order to engage in structured dialogue about the chips act.
Semiconductors (chips) contain rare materials, some of them originating from conflict resources – as the EuChemS periodic table demonstrates it. The Chips Act, alongside bolstering innovation and securing supply, also focuses on the sustainability of such technologies, and the role semiconductors may play in circular economy. You can read more about the chips act here.
A vote on the persistent organic pollutants (POP) draft report proposed by rapporteur Martin Hojsik by the ENVI Committee could bring about stricter restrictions on POPs.
The vote follows the national environment ministers’ endorsement of the Council’s call for a regulation further restricting POPs in waste. This will be introduced as an amendment to the existing POP legislation. The regulation aims to boost progress towards a more sustainable, circular economy by ensuring the quality and reusability of secondary materials. In addition, the reduction of these pollutants will help protect public health and the environment.
Restrictions will be mainly focused on the limit values for dioxins and furans (PCDDs/PCDFs), which are not intentionally produced, rather, are present as an impurity in certain ashes. The concentration limit for for dioxins and furans will be set to a maximum of 10 μg/kg.
You can read the details and remain up to date here.
Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) and ozone depleting substances (ODS) are the focus of the European Commission’s proposals made on 5 April.
The proposal on F gases aims to introduce a tighter quota system for hydrofluorocarbons, as well as restrictions on F gas usage, including the most potent greenhouse gas, SF6. Regarding ODS, the proposal contains new measures for products containing them, as well as additional emission savings achieved by recovering or destroying ODS used in insulation foams during renovation. Both proposals include improved enforcement and broader monitoring.
These human-made greenhouse gases, if released into the atmosphere, contribute drastically to global warming as they are often significantly more harmful than carbon dioxide. Despite this and existing legal limitations, these substances are still broadly used in many areas, such as refrigeration, insulation, among others. The new proposals aim to reduce their usage and incentivise reliance on climate friendly alternatives.
The new F gas proposal and ODS proposal will result in significant emission reduction. It is estimated that the F gas proposal will save the equivalent of 40 million tons CO2 emissions by 2030, and the equivalent to 310 million tons of CO2 by 2050, while the ODS proposal is expected to save the equivalent of 180 million tonnes of CO2 as well as an additional 32,000 tonnes of ozone depleting potential (ODP) emissions by 2050.
The details of the proposals and a more in-depth estimation of impacts can be read here.
The European Commission has launched a portal to assist scientists from Ukraine after the European Research Council’s statement supporting the Ukrainian scientific community. The ERA4Ukraine is a coordinated platform available in English and Ukrainian. It is part of the “EURAXESS – Researchers in Motion” initiative.
EURAXESS has a network consisting of 600+ scientific and academic centres, as well as numerous national-level portals, all of which can be utilised to support students and scientists whose research was disrupted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Through ERA4Ukraine, refugees can also access the temporary employment opportunities provided by European Research Council (ERC) grantees.
The initiative follows in the footsteps of numerous grassroots initiatives, such as the “Science for Ukraine” campaign, which collects opportunities and visualises them on a map. EuChemS has also launched a group last month, focused on helping those who are involved with chemical sciences in Ukraine.
The Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, made a statement on the topic as well, in which she emphasised the importance of Ukrainian beneficiaries’ access to the EU Research and Innovation programme funds.
The latest data of the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) shows that in 2020, only 0.19% of the food samples contained residues from veterinary drugs that exceed the legally permitted maximum levels. This is an improvement over 2019’s 0.30% compliancy rate, and the lowest figure of the past 11 years. Compliancy rates increased for numerous substances, including antithyroid agents, steroids and resorcylic acid lactones as well as anthelmintics, organochlorine compounds, organophosphorus compounds, dyes and “other substances”.
Non-compliancy rates vary across product groups – pigs and poultry having the lowest non-compliancy rates while honey, farmed game and will game were the most non-compliant. Most – 9 out of 12 – food groups reported a non-compliancy rate than 1%.
The detailed data can be found and viewed via an interactive data visualization tool at the EFSA’s webpage.
MEP Christian Ehler is the new chair of European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA), following Eva Kaili. MEP Ehler was elected on 10 March, after being the rapporteur for the Horizon Europe research programme. As a shadow rapporteur, he also contributed to topics on cultural recovery and to budget guidelines for 2022 and 2023.
You can read more about MEP Ehler here and about the entire new STOA leadership here.
The STOA panel is tasked with aiding policymaking by independently assessing new technologies. The European Chemical Society (EuChemS) collaborated with STOA on multiple occasions. In 2011, EuChemS, Cefic and STOA co-organised the workshop “Chemistry for a better life”, and in 2016 EuChemS, EFMC and STOA jointly organized a working breakfast about Antimicrobial Resistance.
In order to prevent further groundwater and soil contamination and health risks for people, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed an EU-wide restriction on all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in firefighting foams. At the request of the European Commission, ECHA investigated the environmental and health risks posed by the use of PFASs in firefighting foams, and after the enquiry, they concluded that an EU-wide restriction is justified as the PFASs risks are currently not adequately controlled and releases should be minimised.
All PFASs, or their breakdown products, have been found to harm human health or the environment. The proposed option by ECHA aims at banning the placing on the market, use and export of all PFASs in firefighting foams after use or sector-specific transition periods, to control their associated risks. If adopted, the restriction could reduce emissions of PFASs into the environment by more than 13 000 tonnes over 30 years. Additionally, five European countries (The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) are working on a restriction proposal covering all PFASs in other uses, to be submitted to ECHA in January 2023.
A six-month consultation will be now performed by ECHA Scientific Committees for Risk Assessment and Socio-Economic Analysis, to assess the proposed restriction options. The European Commission will take a decision on the restriction of PFASs in firefighting foam in 2023, based on this assessment.
The European Parliament has published the new legislative resolution for the protection of workers from the exposure to carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxins. This updated law entails a significant strengthening for workers’ protection against hazardous substances in the workplace, setting EU-wide occupational exposure limits.
Reprotoxic substances, which are harmful to reproduction and can cause impaired fertility or infertility, have been included within the scope of the Directive on limiting workers’ exposure to carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxic substances for the first time. As stated in the new agreement, healthcare workers dealing with hazardous medicinal products (half of which are reprotoxic) must receive sufficient and appropriate training on how to handle them safely. In addition, the text calls for the establishment of an indicative list of HMPs by the end of 2022. The occupational exposure limits for acrylonitrile and nickel compounds are provided, and the maximum limit for benzene has been revised. Also, a reduction of occupational exposure limit to crystalline silica dust, which has been associated with elevated rates of lung cancer and silicosis, is requested in the text.
After Council’s approval, this Directive will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Member states will have two years to transpose the directive after its entering into force.
In the January 2022 issue of the EuChemS Brussels News Updates (BNU) newsletter, we informed you about the provisional agreement reached by the EU Council and the European Parliament to update the carcinogens and mutagens Directive. Find out more about it here.
The European Union has exceeded the objectives set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. The initial aim by 2020 was to reduce emissions by 20% compared to 1990 – this was exceeded by 11%, as estimated data shows that emissions were 31% lower in 2020. While this is certainly good news, longer term predictions are still not wholly optimistic.
A large drop in emissions in 2020 was a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the predicted net reduction by 2030 would be only 41%, while the target is 55% for the beginning of the next decade. Looking further into the future, by 2050, according to the EU Green Deal objectives, the continent should become completely climate neutral.
‘Fit for 55’ is an overarching legislation package, that aims to deliver these goals. In addition, pollution-heavy sectors are involved in the EU Emissions Trading System, that incentivizes lower pollution. The effects of the ETS are demonstrated by the impressive 40% emission reduction amongst participating power plants and factories. The Effort Sharing Decision introduced national emission reduction targets – on a national level, energy efficiency was improved, and less carbon-intensive fuels were used.
The results and future challenges are well illustrated by the infographics, which can be seen here, alongside some additional information.
The European Union is working on an updated regulatory framework for batteries. The directive focuses on circular economy – the repurposing, remanufacturing, or recycling of batteries at the end of their life cycles – as well as on a more effective way of categorising and labelling them.
The demand for batteries is increasing globally, and the EU market is no exception. This is largely due to the growing popularity of zero-emission electric vehicles. MEPs called for a separate category to be added for batteries used in light vehicles, such as electric scooters or bikes, alongside the categories of batteries for cars, portable devices, and industrial storage. In addition, to ensure batteries are more sustainable, the EU environmental committee aims to guarantee that new batteries contain recycled cobalt, lead, lithium, and nickel. A label will be added on new batteries, reflecting their carbon footprints. Regarding the recycling of old batteries, higher collection targets will be introduced: 80% by 2030 for portable batteries, 85% by 2030 for light transport batteries and 100% for automotive and industrial batteries. Alongside environmental issues, MEPs also aim to prevent human rights abuses by ensuring the ethical sourcing of raw materials for batteries, via introducing a due diligence obligation for manufacturers.
Parliament is expected to back the proposed measures during the plenary session in March 2022, after which it will begin negotiations with EU governments.
The fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) took place from the 28 February to 2 March in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme for UNEA’s 5th session was “Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” and highlighted the crucial role of nature in our lives, addressing the need of protecting and restoring nature, and proposing nature-based solutions to achieve the sustainable development goals in its three complementary dimensions – social, economic, and environmental.
This is in line with the Burlington consensus event, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), and the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). EuChemS was invited to the Burlington consensus event, during which, experts emphasized the need for a global, independent platform that can address the issues of pollution on a global scale, highlighting that such a discussion should be high priority at the UNEA-5.
Partners from all continents, agreed to launch negotiations on a new legally binding global agreement on plastics, which aim is to address some ignored issues in the existing initiatives and agreements with regard to the design and production phases of the plastics life cycle. The overall goal of the agreement is eliminating the leakage of plastic into the environment. The main proposed solutions focus on prevention, proper design and production of plastics and their resource-efficient use. The first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee will be held in the second semester of 2022 and the negotiation process is expected to end by 2024.
The UNEA conference is held every two years and brings together representatives of Member States of the UN, businesses, civil society, and other stakeholders to agree on policies to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. For more information about the outcomes of the Assembly, visit: Environment Assembly (unep.org)
The European Parliament endorsed the content of the agreement reached with the Council of the European Union in October 2021, which goal is to make the European Medicines Agency (EMA) more effective in tackling shortages of medicines and medical devices by increasing the powers of the EU’s medicines regulator.
Two “shortages steering groups,” for medicines and medical devices respectively will be set up and will meet not only on a regular basis, but also whenever the situation requires, such as in the preparation for or during a public health emergency. The agency will also set up a public webpage with information on shortage of critical medicines and medical devices.
During a public health emergency, sponsors of clinical trials conducted in the EU will be required to make the study protocol publicly available in the EU clinical trials register at the start of the trial, as well as a summary of the results. When a medicinal product is granted marketing authorisation, the EMA will publish product information with details of the conditions of use and clinical data received.
The aim is to better equip the EMA to monitor and mitigate shortages of medicinal products and medical devices considered to be critical to address public health emergencies.
Following the final vote in plenary, the text will be published soon in the EU Official Journal, and the regulation to increase the powers of the European Medicines Agency will come into force on 1 March 2022.
The 5th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) session will take place in Nairobi on 28 February 2022. This event will address the development of a legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution between UN countries. The objective of the treaty is to reduce the discharge of plastics into the environment by covering all stages of the plastic life cycle and by adopting a circular economy approach to plastics.
Chemical pollution is an urgent, critical issue with harmful effects such as biodiversity loss and climate change. A recent study has shown that chemical pollution has crossed a planetary boundary, which means that chemicals are a serious problem disturbing the Earth’s systems, and large scale or irreversible environmental changes could arise. the management of chemicals and plastic pollution is poor and because of this, it is threatening critical systems that we depend on.
The study shows that plastics and pesticides production trends have grown, and it is expected that this production will continue to rise. The UNEA-5 is expected to tackle plastic pollution over its entire lifetime, so that the system so it becomes more sustainable and less likely to threaten the planet.
We invite you to read more on the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) here and more about the recent study on chemical pollution here.
The Candidate List of substances of very high concern has been recently updated and it includes 4 new substances. One of the four substances has hormone-disrupting properties in humans and is used in the cosmetic industry. Two of the substances are used as rubbers, lubricants, and sealants, and have been added into the list because of their adverse effects on fertility. The fourth one has been described as a harmful chemical for the environment due to its persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic effects.
The list, developed by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), now contains 223 entries for chemicals (or groups of chemicals) that can harm people or the environment. The inclusion of any chemical substance in the list means that its use is forbidden unless a company receives authorisation from the European Commission. Companies have legal obligations if any of the chemical substances from the Candidate List is included in their products. Suppliers, importers, and producers of articles containing a Candidate List substance > 0.1 % (weight by weight), must notify ECHA under the Waste Framework Directive, within six months from the date it has been included in the list. They must also provide sufficient information to customers and consumers to allow safe use (in the form of a safety data sheet).
The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) have recently held a joint public hearing on “The impact of the Farm to Fork Strategy on agriculture and food systems.” The aim of the hearing, which was comprised of two panels, was to discuss the actual impact of the Strategy, its links to other policies and the way forward to a sustainable food system.
The first panel focused on the general impacts of the Strategy as assessed by the American Economic Research Services and the Wageningen University and Research Centre. Some of the conclusions of their assessment are that achieving the EU’s Green Deal objectives may lead to a reduction of livestock production in the order of 10 to 15% and that fertilizer surplus reduction and climate measures are likely to become main constraining factors to EU agricultural production.
The second panel, led by members from the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and the European Agriculture Initiative at the “Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales” (IDDRI), looked at adaptation strategies. They stated that there is an urgent need to redirect policies to serve long-term sustainability goals, building a robust and strategic framework for food system resilience and a deeper accountability and engagement for change from stakeholders.
We invite you to watch the recording of this hearing here.
On Thursday 10 February, the members of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted a report on the proposal for a regulation on batteries and waste batteries.
This proposition defines a set of rules to govern the entire battery product life cycle, from design to disposal of batteries. MEPs also proposed introducing a new category of batteries: “batteries for ‘light means of transport’ (LMT)’ (e.g., batteries in e-bikes). Amongst others, MEPs call for:
producing more sustainable batteries with minimum levels of raw materials;
designing easy removal and replacement systems for consumers and introducing common charger standards;
implementing global value chain standards;
increasing the batteries waste management target to 70% by 2025.
This report was presented by MEP Simona Bonafè, the rapporteur. As a reminder, MEP Bonafè presented the new EU Sustainable Batteries Regulation during the EuChemS policy workshop on the lithium element, held on 1 December 2021. You can watch her intervention on the EuChemS YouTube channel.
Two new initiatives have recently been presented by the European Commission with the aim of increasing the contribution of universities and other higher education institutions to face Europe’s major challenges such as climate change, the digital transformation, and aging population. The Commission believes that the entire higher education sector has a unique position at the crossroads of education, research, and innovation, in shaping sustainable and resilient economies, and supporting universities on the provision of high-quality life-long learning opportunities with a focus on the most needed skills and competences to face today’s economic and societal demands.
The first proposal, the European strategy for universities, proposes a set of actions to support Europe’s universities towards achieving four objectives: strengthen the European dimension of higher education and research, consolidate universities as lighthouses of our European way of life, empower universities as key actors of change in the green and digital transition and reinforce universities as drivers of EU’s global role and leadership.
The second proposal focuses on building bridges for effective European higher education cooperation, by facilitating the implementation of joint transnational educational programmes and activities, pooling capacity, and resources, or awarding joint degrees. Member states are invited to act and create appropriate conditions at national level for enabling such closer and sustainable transnational cooperation.
Read more on the next steps for both strategies here
In December 2021, the Slovenian presidency of the EU Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal to update the carcinogens and mutagens directive. This EU law aims to protect workers from exposure risks to carcinogenic and mutagenic substances.
This provisional agreement is part of the European Commission’s commitment to fighting cancer under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and follows up the Commission’s proposal to limit workers’ exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, launched in September 2020. According to the Commission’s Press Release, ‘about 120,000 work-related cancer cases occur as a result of exposure to carcinogens at work in the EU’ every year.
Protecting workers is our priority.
Congratulations to @EU2021SI and @EPSocialAffairs for reaching a deal on the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (CMD4).
This is an important step towards a higher protection of around 1 million workers from dangerous chemical substances.
Exposure limits for acrylonitrile and nickel compounds will be set and the limits for benzene exposure will be lowered. Under this agreement, reprotoxic substances will be covered by the carcinogens and mutagens directive.
The next steps relate to the examination and endorsement of the proposal by the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee. Voting in the Council and the European Parliament would follow at a later stage.
The report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) 2021 annual Stakeholder Forum, held online on 9 and 10 November 2021, has been released. Representatives of the registered stakeholder organisations, EFSA’s Management and Senior Board, EFSA’s Senior Management, scientific and communication officers, observers from sister Agencies and the European Commission gathered to discuss EFSA’s structure, including the renewed Stakeholder Engagement Approach, food safety ecosystems and the stakeholders’ role.
Some of the outcomes of the Forum are the following:
updated Stakeholder Engagement Approach (SEA) focusing on efficient topic-based collaboration;
launch of a new digital platform to facilitate stakeholder engagement;
elaboration of strategic developments within and around EFSA;
On 7 and 9 January 2022, the European Citizens’ Panel on Climate Change, Environment and Health met for one last time during hybrid meetings – online and in Warsaw, Poland. This European Citizens’ Panel is a citizen-led process of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). During these events, about 200 citizens from all EU countries gathered to address challenges related to climate, the environment, and health in Europe. They adopted 51 recommendations, to be taken forward during the Conference Plenary, scheduled at the end of January, during which the CoFoE final proposals will continue to be shaped.
The recommendations cover many topics such as the fields of biodiversity and food safety by including recommendations such as investing more research into green and sustainable solutions, finding natural alternatives to pesticides, and requiring declarations on the use of hormonal substances and endocrine disruptors in food production.
Concerning research and innovation in Europe, the citizens’ panel is requesting the following:
further developing and synchronising already existing health R&I programmes and making academic outcomes and results freely available in all member states;
increasing the EU budget dedicated for joint research and innovation projects around health;
Encouraging research and development, with funding schemes, to introduce more sustainable and affordable products within the EU market.
You can read the full list of recommendations here.
Under the Horizon Europe Programme, the European Research Council (ERC) has awarded 397 Starting Grants to early-career researchers around Europe. An average of €1.5 million will be granted to each young researcher to launch their projects, raising the total investment to €619 million.
The selected proposals, covering all areas of research, were allocated in three major panels: Physical Sciences and Engineering, Life Sciences and Social Sciences and Humanities. The candidates will carry out their projects at European universities, associated universities and research centres, mostly in Germany (72 projects), France (53), the UK (46) and the Netherlands (44). Switzerland is considered a non-associated third country, but as the negotiations between the EU and Switzerland were not closed before the closing of this call, the proposals from Swiss host institutions selected for funding will remain eligible if the host institution is replaced with an alternative institution form an eligible country by the time of signing the grant agreement. Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, stated that this was a big opportunity for researchers who had left the European Union to research overseas, to come back to do science in Europe, making sure Europe remains a worldwide scientific powerhouse.
Chemistry projects fall within the Physical Sciences and Engineering panel, including different topics, from Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences to Synthetic Chemistry and Materials or Products and Processes Engineering, among others. One of the outstanding selected projects includes the research project from Dr Sarah Guerin, focusing on the development of biomolecular crystals as a new type of organic, low-cost, high-performance piezoelectric sensors leading to the phasing-out of inorganic device components – with dramatically reduced environmental impact.
The full list of available projects is available here.
One of the important topics on the European Parliament’s 2022 agenda will be to debate and vote on legislative files to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as part of the Fit for 55 package legislative train schedule under the European Green Deal. Discussions will revolve around emissions targets, renewable energy, and sustainable fuels. Furthermore, as a follow up to the European Commission’s proposal to modernise EU legislation on batteries, the Parliament will also work on regulations for batteries’ sustainable production, as well as waste management of all batteries placed on the EU market.
The Conference on the Future of Europe has entered its final and decisive phase: the panels’ recommendations will be published into the final Conference report in the first semester of 2022, which will be prepared by the executive board of the Conference (i.e. representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, as well as observers from all Conference stakeholders).
As 2022 has been declared the ‘Year of European Youth’, the Parliament is expected to actively shape and take part in the many activities scheduled throughout the year.
Did you know that you can watch meetings of various Committees of the European Parliament live? The next Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) meetings will take place on Wednesday 26 January and Thursday 27 January 2022. For details, please click on the above links.
We will keep you informed about the 2022 European Parliament activities related to R&I and climate issues in our Brussels News Updates (BNU) newsletter, starting in the February BNU with the election of the President and Vice-Presidents. Consider subscribing to stay updated!
On 1 January 2022, France took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Slovenia, thus starting a new trio Presidency composed of France, Czech Republic, and Sweden. By choosing the motto ‘Recovery, Strength and a Sense of Belonging’, France conveys its hope to unite EU citizens and to strengthen Europe’s global response to current challenges.
The French Presidency has identified three strategic priorities to guide its six-month programme for higher education, research, and innovation:
to stimulate cooperation between higher education, research, innovation, and services to society by promoting an EU knowledge policy;
to shape the international dimension of European higher education, research, and innovation policies, to offer appealing academic career opportunities in the EU and to set up major European university campuses;
to nurture a sense of belonging in Europe.
If there is one key word that could define the French 6-month strategy for R&I, it would be ‘cooperation’. France takes a broad view by aiming to increase and improve scientific cooperation not only within the EU, but also internationally. As a reaction to some significant 2021 drawbacks for EU’s openness to science cooperation – Switzerland was denied access to Horizon Europe and the UK’s participation as an associated country is yet to be announced – France expressed its ambition to promote balanced R&I cooperation with non-EU countries. One of the main events of the Presidency will be the ‘Conference on International Cooperation for a Global Europe in the Field of Research, Higher Education and Innovation’ in Marseille on 8 and 9 March 2022.
In addition, France presented an ambitious model for economic growth, based on technology sovereignty. In its Presidency programme, they announced backing the building of a European Innovation Area. As a concrete steps towards establishing Europe’s technological sovereignty, the Presidency will organise a conference on ‘Europe as a leader in breakthrough innovation’ on 11 May 2022. The implementation of various European and national instruments at the regional and territorial level will also be addressed during this conference.
Horizon Europe remains a high priority on France’s agenda as the Presidency will ensure the success of its missions by coordinating them at European, national, and local levels. A ‘High-level Conference on Civic Engagement in EU Missions’ will be organised on 21 March 2022 to discuss solutions to current global challenges via the EU Missions of the Horizon Europe programme. In addition, the French Presidency has set as an objective the launch of private-public partnerships under Horizon Europe to take effect during the first six months of 2022.
As a supporter of nuclear power energy, France will extend ongoing initiatives to maintain and develop skills in the field, especially through the Euratom programme.
France will also be committed to pursue the strengthening of the European Research Area (ERA) as further political pledges are needed to achieve its full implementation.
You can have a look at the official website of the French Presidency here.
Earlier this month, EuChemS released the fourth and last edition for the year 2021 of its newsletter Chemistry in Europe (CiE).
This issue includes the editorial from Ehud Keinan, IUPAC President-elect for the 2024-2025 biennium and former EuChemS Executive Board member, who discusses the challenges and opportunities to come for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
We kindly invite you to discover other topics of this issue of the Chemistry in Europe newsletter here.
About Chemistry in Europe
Chemistry in Europe is a EuChemS quarterly publication. Its objective is to inform about research in Europe, to provide updates from EuChemS Member Organisations, and to look into policy-related developments.
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Considering the ongoing digitalisation and transition to green energies in Europe, members of the European Parliament highlighted the European Union’s dependence on imports of resources and called for more recycling of Critical Raw Materials (CRMs), finding alternative solutions to them and domestic sourcing during a plenary session of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE committee) held in Strasbourg on 24 November.
Extremely glad about the huge majority of colleagues (543:52:94) who supported my strategic initiative report on #criticalrawmaterials. It shows that colleagues care about the fact that we need a resilient industrial base for the Green Deal and the twin transformation, … (1/3)
The increasing use of technologies led to a higher demand for CRMs. By highlighting the need to boost the EU’s strategic autonomy in CRMs, MEPs propose to work towards the EU resilience and securing strategic value chains for a green and digital Europe. MEPs’ recommendations include, amongst others, the diversification of CRMs sources, better funds for CRM projects under the National Recovery Plans and the Taxonomy Regulation, and stronger controls of EU exports of CRM waste products.
For more details, please read the ITRE Committee press release.
