Brussels News Updates

1 European Highlights, BNU January 2017, Brussels News Updates

Council Approves the EU’s Legislative Priorities for 2017

The Council of the European Union has recently approved the EU’s legislative priorities for 2017 as agreed beforehand with the European Parliament and the European Commission. This will help the three EU institutions to pool their efforts and to ensure substantial progress in fields where they are most needed. In this concise document the EU institutions agreed to focus, among other, on the follow-up to the Paris agreement and the clean energy for all Europeans package, and on improving waste management in a circular economy.
Source: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/

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1 European Highlights, BNU January 2017, Brussels News Updates

EuCheMS Answer to the Interim Evaluation of H2020 Consultation

EuCheMS has recently submitted its response to the public consultation on the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020. In its answer, EuCheMS reaffirms the importance of Horizon 2020 as a research funding mechanism, the need for further simplification in the application process, the importance of further European collaboration as to avoid fragmentation and unnecessary duplication of research resources, and the need to increase the level of funding in order to speed-up science answers to our current global challenges.
Source: http://www.euchems.eu/

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1 European Highlights, BNU January 2017, Brussels News Updates

Priorities for the Maltese Presidency of the Council

Malta will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first semester of 2017, following six months of Slovak Presidency. Research is one of the Maltese Presidency priorities, with a focus on strengthening the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in research and innovation, primarily through ensuring legislative deliberations on the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) initiative. The Maltese Presidency also intends to identify areas where monitoring and reporting burdens in the European Research Area (ERA) could be reduced. Furthermore, they will focus on antimicrobial resistance by making progresses on the Regulations on Veterinary Medicinal Products and Medicated Feed, and on circular economy, envisaging to progress the negotiations for the six Waste Directives while also promoting discussions on marine litter and on the plastics strategy. Under the Maltese Presidency, EuCheMS will organise a workshop in Malta, in April, on the topic of Circular Economy and pharmaceuticals.
Source: http://www.eu2017.mt/

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