31 October 2017
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=calls.calls_for_app
Dedicated Support to Biotechnology SMEs Closing the Gap from Lab to Market
Deadline: 18 October 2017
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/
EFSA Thematic Grant – Detection and Quantification of Allergens in Foods and Minimum Eliciting Doses in Food Allergic Individuals
Deadline: 15 October 2017
Website: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/
EFSA Public Consultation on The Active Substance Carvone
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will assess all comments from interested parties regarding the active substance Carvone. Input is requested on the following: physical/chemical properties; details of uses and further information; methods of analysis; mammalian toxicology; residues; and environmental fate and behaviour.
Deadline: 6 November 2017
Website: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/
Public Consultation on The Revision of The Policy on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of CO2 Emissions from Maritime Transport
Regulation on monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon dioxide emissions from maritime transport was adopted and entered into force in 2015. It sets an EU wide scheme for reporting monitored and verified data on shipping CO2 emissions (EU MRV) applying to activities carried out after January 2018. At the international level, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has completed the legal framework for its global data collection system (IMO DCS) with the adoption in July 2017 of guidelines on data verification and database management. Considering these recent developments, the Commission is now reviewing the situation with a view to align the EU MRV with the IMO DCS and it will table, if appropriate, a legislative proposal to amend the EU MRV accordingly in 2018. In this context, a stakeholder consultation will ensure that all relevant parties are given the opportunity to express their opinions and to contribute to the analysis on the effectiveness and potential impacts of such alignment.
Deadline: 1 December 2017
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/
Public Consultation on the Evaluation of the Batteries Directive
The Batteries Directive lays down rules on placing batteries and accumulators on the market and their treatment in the EU. The evaluation is the first step of a review process, in which the Commission assesses whether this Directive meets its objectives and contributes to the general objectives of the EU environmental policy. Preliminary research results have served as a basis for understanding the various issues at hand as well as for identifying areas where data gaps in aspects under evaluation still remain. This consultation offers any interested individual, group or company an opportunity to give their opinion and provide information. The consultation aims to capture views, experience and ideas of relevant stakeholders on achieving the Directive’s objectives, and invites them to provide relevant information for assessing the Directive’s performance and suitability.
Deadline: 28 November 2017
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/
Feedback: Alignment of Compositional Requirements and Quality Characteristics of Milk and Milk Products Under Public Intervention
The 2013 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (the “CAP”) has confirmed that the system of public intervention and aid for private storage should continue as two of the main market measures of the CAP. EU legislation sets out the methods to be applied in assessing whether milk and milk products comply with the eligibility requirements laid down in those Regulations for public intervention and aid for private storage. In the light of technical developments in the methodology used in the analysis and quality evaluation of milk and milk products, substantial changes should be made in order to simplify and to provide for updated references to ISO standards.
Deadline: 6 October 2017
Website: https://ec.europa.eu/; https://ec.europa.eu/
Increase in Notifications Providing Information on the Export of Hazardous Chemicals
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) first report on the operation of the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Regulation shows that notifications from EU companies to export certain hazardous chemicals outside the EU have grown by 74 % in the past three years. This increase is far beyond the originally estimated 10 % yearly increase and implies that the EU gives an increasing amount of useful information to authorities in importing countries, which they can use for regulatory purposes and to identify the companies using these chemicals in their country.
Source: https://echa.europa.eu/
Unitary Patent Guide
The “Unitary Patent Guide” aims to provide companies, inventors and their representatives with an outline of the procedure involved in obtaining a Unitary Patent from the European Patent Office (EPO) once it has granted a European patent on the basis of the provisions laid down in the European Patent Convention (EPC). The guide also deals with the accessory procedures relating to Unitary Patents, such as those to be followed under the compensation scheme for translation costs or when registering a statement on licences of right, and gives an overview of the rules on how to pay renewal fees for Unitary Patents.
Source: http://www.epo.org/
Cross-border Collaboration and Portfolio Management of Research Infrastructures
Science Europe, a Brussels-based association of European Research Funding Organisations (RFO) and Research Performing Organisations (RPO), has recently released its latest workshop report on ‘Cross-border Collaboration and Portfolio Management of Research Infrastructures’. The workshop, organised in Dublin earlier this year, explored the challenges facing research funding and performing organisations to design and manage balanced research infrastructure (RI) portfolios and design effective cross-border collaborations when setting up and running joint RIs. The key points discussed during the workshop are summarised in the report.
Source: http://www.scienceeurope.org/
Applications for ERC Advanced Grants 2017: Facts and Figures
The ERC has recently released the preliminary statistics on submitted proposals for European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants 2017, whose applications closed in August. According to the statistics, the number of applicants, 2166, decreased 10% when compared with the previous year. The highest number of applications was registered in the domain of Physical Sciences and Engineering (46%), followed by Life Sciences (29%), and Social Science and Humanities (25%). 18% of the proposals were submitted by women – a slight improvement from the past years (16.5% in 2016, 17% in 2015). The ERC Work Programme has earmarked €567 million for an estimated 245 Advanced Grants in 2017. The estimated success rate in this competition is 11%. The ERC is now starting evaluation of the proposals. The selected projects will be announced in spring 2018.
Source: https://erc.europa.eu/
New Knowledge Centre on Bioeconomy
A Bioeconomy Knowledge Centre has recently been created by the European Commission to better support policy makers with science-based evidence in this field. This online platform will primarily collect, structure and provide access to knowledge from a wide range of scientific sources on bioeconomy, the sustainable production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into valuable products, fields in which chemistry is essential.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/
Steering Platform on Research and Innovation for Western Balkans
The Steering Platform on Research and Innovation for Western Balkans (SP), established in 2006, facilitates the interaction between the Western Balkan Countries, the EU member states, the candidate and potential candidate countries and other states associated to the Research Framework Programmes and the European Commission. Its main objective is to support the enhanced integration of the Western Balkans Countries (WBCs) in the European Research Area. It is a strategic body to deal with European, multilateral and regional issues of Science, Technology and Innovation policies in and with the WBCs. It acts as an information exchange centre, clearing house for joint ideas and activities, and coordination forum for needs, suggestions and proposals of the WBCs to the European Commission, the EU28, candidate and potential candidate countries and the countries associated to Horizon 2020 and vice versa. In 2017 new scheme for the support of the SP meetings was introduced, funded by the European Commission. Within this facility it is planned to organise two SP meetings in 2017 and in 2018, as well as three SP thematic meetings. For more info please see the source link below.
Source: https://wbc-rti.info/theme/16
Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance
A Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections (EU-JAMRAI) was launched this month at the French Ministry of Health in Paris. The Joint Action EU-JAMRAI aims to bring together EU Member States and international organizations, institutes, and universities in order to contribute towards solving antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and healthcare-associated infections. With more than 44 partners and 22 collaborating stakeholders from all over Europe, this Joint action will capitalize on existing initiatives and propose concrete steps to reduce the burden of AMR. Conclusions from a EuCheMS-EFMC–STOA workshop organised on this topic are available online.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/
MEPs Discuss Fipronil in Eggs
In a debate on the contamination of eggs with the insecticide Fipronil, many Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) criticised national authorities for delays in notifying the EU’s Rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF) and called for the information-sharing system to be improved. Some even suggested fines for member states which fail to share crucial food safety information, while others called for truly dissuasive sanctions for fraudulent producers or suppliers of pest-control products. Fipronil, an insecticide used inter alia to kill fleas and mites, is classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as moderately hazardous. Its use in the EU is prohibited for all food-producing animals. Quality control of our food is one of the many areas where chemistry plays a major role.
Source: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/
New and Improved Car Emissions Tests
Since September 2017, new car models will have to pass new and more reliable emissions tests in real driving conditions (“Real Driving Emissions” – RDE) as well as an improved laboratory test (“World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure” – WLTP) before they can be driven on European roads. These changes were prompted by the Volkswagen emissions scandal, and aim to control, among other, emissions of CO2 as well as NOx and other air pollutants. According to the European Commission, three air pollutants alone, PM 2.5, NO2 and O3, are responsible for 400 000 premature deaths per year in the EU including some 70.000 directly linked to NO2.
Sources: http://europa.eu/; http://europa.eu/
2018 Erasmus+ Annual Work Programme Published
The 2018 annual work programme for Erasmus+ was published in August and outlines the structure and funding of the programme for the following year, with an overall budget of more than €2.5 Billion. Erasmus+ aims to provide to over 4 million Europeans the opportunity to gain competences and have a personal, socio – educational and professional development through studies, training, work experiences or volunteering abroad. It also fosters quality improvements, innovation, excellence and internationalisation of organisations active in education and training, youth and sport, and promotes initiatives that support policy reforms at all levels.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/
Commissioner Moedas Against Proposed Cuts to Horizon 2020
EU Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas has recently criticised, during a conference, a proposal from member states to cut almost half a billion euros out of Horizon 2020. In May, the European Commission proposed a budget of €160.6 billion for 2018. The Council answered in July, proposing a €1.7 billion reduction which would impact Horizon 2020. Moedas said that, to walk back the proposals, scientists needed to call their governments. The Commissioner also guaranteed he would make his case to ministers of science and finance.
Source: https://sciencebusiness.net/
EuCheMS 2017 General Assembly
EuCheMS 2017 General Assembly will take place on 26 – 27 September 2017 in Rome, Italy, together with EuCheMS´ Professional Networks and Executive Board meetings. The General Assembly, the governing body of EuCheMS composed of representatives from each of EuCheMS’ Member Societies and Supporting Members, meets annually and defines the general policy of EuCheMS. One of the topics will be the EuCheMS position paper Research and Education Without Borders After Brexit.
Source: http://www.euchems.eu/
Solar Driven-Chemistry Meeting
In the follow-up of the publication of the white paper Solar-Driven Chemistry, EuCheMS is currently organising a meeting taking place on 15 October in Brussels. During this meeting, EuCheMS and several European funding agencies will look into the possibilities opened by this white paper with the intent to discuss and coordinate efforts in order to promote Solar-Driven Chemistry at the European Level. This paper aims to show that it is possible, and even necessary, to drive chemical reactions by the energy from the sun in order to guarantee the welfare of future generations.
Source: http://www.euchems.eu/
Preparing for Employment in a Global Workforce
The workshop Preparing for Employment in a Global Workforce, co-organized by EuCheMS and American Chemical Society (ACS), took place on 20 August during the 254th ACS National Meeting & Exposition in Washington, DC. In this discussion aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and their professors, the workshop explored ways in which students can be better prepared for employment in the global market. Careers opportunities and trends were discussed from the point of view of experts from government, industry and academia with a particular emphasis on trends in the United States and Europe. ACS and EuCheMS shared results of employment surveys for chemists to help better understand the training needs of chemists worldwide.
Source: http://www.euchems.eu/
EuCheMS Year Book 2016 Online
The 2016 edition of EuCheMS Year Book is online here.
Chemistry in Europe
7th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress – ECC7
