European Union News - Research & Innovation

Since 2nd July and until 7th July, Turin is hosting the Euroscience Open Forum, a meeting which aims to boost scientific research and to study its impact on the European society.

The European Commission's own research arm, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), has published its new strategy for the period 2010-2020. The new guidelines aim to reinforce scientific support to EU policy-making based on assessments of policy options identified in close collaboration with the Commission's policy Directorates-General.

The European Commission has announced the inclusion of 2009 data into the Financial Transparency System (FTS). This on-line database, which goes back to 2007 and contains more than 114.000 entries, has been upgraded to allow more search options, and provide information on Commission administrative expenditure.

The European Commission put forward on July 1st a proposal to reduce translation arrangements for a future EU Patent. This proposal which is the final element needed for a single EU Patent to become a reality, is based on the three language system at the European Patent Office (EPO) and, if adopted, would drastically reduce existing translation costs.

The European Commission has handed on June 2010 a mandate for the development of relevent standards on  common charging system for electric cars, scooters and bicycles to the European Standardisation Organisations bodies, CEN-CENELEC and ETSI. Thanks to this mandate plugs and connectors will use the same standard all across Europe, providing a true European solution independently of brands or countries. The Commission expects that the standard will be ready by mid-2011.

The European Commission has recently adopted two major initiatives that will see changes to the financial regulations and a simplification of the procedures surrounding the EU's research Framework Programmes, in order to cut red tape and focus on research results. As well as making it easier for researchers to gain access to EU funds, the new rules would also help fuse more public and private funding, giving investment a stronger punch.

The European Union has agreed to provide additional 40 million Euros to the international Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) programme. This new amount of funds will place the total amount of funds available under COST Programme in 250 M€ to disbursed until the end of FP7. COST Program funds research projects which bring together scientists from at least five countries and is one of the key elements of EU scientific cooperation.

The European Commission and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have officially concluded negotiations for the establishment of a Memorandum of cooperation in civil aviation research and development, in a meeting hosted by the EU Spanish Presidency.

The meeting of the European Council taking place in Brussels on Thursday June 17th 2010, which ended up Spanish Presidency of the European Union, achieved the adoption of a new 10-year strategy for jobs and growth. European leaders also reinforced their determination to ensure fiscal sustainability, committing to ensure financial stability and agreed on the need to reinforce coordination of economic policies.

Brussels will host on 9th July an information day on public-private partnerships funded by Seventh Framework Programme for initiatives on energy-efficient buildings, factories of the future and 'green cars'

The European Parliament gave its backing to the development of an "internet of things", the new information technology combining electronic chips and internet addresses, in a resolution adopted on its last plenary session. However, MEPs called for a proper assessment of any consequences regarding health, privacy and personal data protection. In a second resolution, Parliament stressed that the internet is a global public good and should thus be run in the general interest of society.