On 1 January 2020, Croatia has officially taken over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from Finland. “A Europe that develops, a Europe that connects, a Europe that protects, an influential Europe’’, this is how Croatia wants to shape Europe for the first semester of 2020. Albeit positioning Europe as a global leader will be a priority for Croatia during its 6-months presidency, the country will give top priority to science and sustainable development.

On its strategic agenda, Croatia announced supporting the European Green Deal. The country also addresses the issue of European research fragmentation, especially brain drain. Although talented researchers are equally distributed on the continent, the opportunities are not, as brains tend to leave central and Eastern Europe for Western Europe. Among the main topics at stake, Croatia will launch discussions on reforms and investments in education. The mobility of the Erasmus+ programme, for which proposals to increase its funding are currently discussed, will also be examined during these 6 months.

For more information, you can visit the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union website.