Hoping to put pandemic-related delays behind it, the Brussels policy machine is cranking up again after the summer break. First up on the agenda is the (non-binding) pact for research and innovation, with the Commission now waiting for member states to sign off on the pact following its launch by research commissioner Mariya Gabriel back in July. The pact seeks to convince member states lagging behind the EU average R&D expenditure to increase their total public and private research funding by 50% in the next five years. The Commission wants member states to raise total private and public expenditure on research and development to 3% of gross domestic product – something only Germany, Sweden and Austria achieved in 2019, according to Eurostat. The EU average of 2.2% is well below the US, Japan, and South Korea.
The other main policy debates will be following:
- Horizon Europe association (about Kosovo talks with the European Commission on Horizon Europe association);
- Research missions as one of the novelties in Horizon Europe;
- The European Bauhaus (Bauhaus initiative, aimed at finding new technologies and designs for sustainable housing in Europe);
- Innovation ecosystems (a plan for fostering innovation ecosystems across EU’s regions);
- New biomedical research agency;
- Health data space (EU is planning to establish a European Health Data Space, to encourage the return of many research programmes and clinical trials to the EU).
On 13 September, MEPs will gather in Strasbourg for the first plenary session after the summer break. They are scheduled to vote through a plan to reduce the use of animals in research, regulatory testing and education.
