INESC Brussels HUB Spring Meeting is here!

This morning took place the workshop “Enhancing science-based knowledge on EU forests – its influence in decision making”, organized by the HUB work group Agro-Food and Forestry. The recording of this event will be uploaded in the Private Area of the HUB website (folder Events). A sincere thank you goes to Cidália Fonte (INESC Coimbra) for organizing this thought-provoking dialogue among different EU forestry stakeholders, and to Diogo Duarte (INESC Coimbra) and Reinaldo Gomes (INESC TEC) for their contributions in the workshop. We hope that this will only be the first of a series of events to discuss Horizon Europe strategic orientations, demonstrate INESC dynamism, and set the foundations for future project networks.

This afternoon, at 2 pm Portuguese time, we will host the high-level roundtable on deep tech, featuring profiles from INESC and high-level European stakeholders in the area. The registrations for this event are still open, so don’t forget to register by following the link if you want to participate!

New Commission webinar on Horizon Europe

On June 9^th, from 9.30 to 12.30 CEST, the Commission will host its new explanatory webinar on Horizon Europe, titled Dissemination & Exploitation in Horizon Europe. The event does not need registration and will be live-streamed on the event page. As for previous Commission webinars on Horizon Europe, the supporting documents of this session will be available on the Commission website and also on the HUB website Private Area.

Science ministers commit to improving research careers and agree on €7 billion for EuroHPC

EU research ministers on Friday committed to enhance the attractiveness of research careers and improve brain circulation in Europe, and are calling on member states and the European Commission to take a common approach.

That will include setting up an EU system to track mobility of talent, assess working conditions and promote gender and intergenerational equality. At the same time, the European Universities alliances, 41 EU-supported bottom-up networks of universities, are called on to serve as testbeds for new recruitment schemes, training, career development, and reward systems. “These conclusions mark a first step towards making research careers across Europe more attractive and sustainable, and allowing brain circulation to become a reality,” said Manuel Heitor, Portuguese minister for science, technology, and higher education.

Ministers also hashed out an early political agreement on the framework for the public private research partnership, EuroHPC, which will see at least €7 billion of investment in Europe’s supercomputing ecosystem. The Commission had proposed a budget of €8 billion to get there, but the ministers agreed €7 billion. With a lowered budget, the EU budget will contribute around €3 billion to the partnership, channelling money from three different funding streams, including the research programme, Horizon Europe. Another €900 million will come from industry, while a further  €3 billion will be provided by the 32 participating countries. Read more on the subject on Science Business.

Energy for the Green Deal: a series of on-line stakeholder dialogues

The Commission DG Energy is organising, together with the EC Representations in EU countries, a series of on-line stakeholder dialogues to discuss how energy policy can contribute to achieving a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. These dialogues focus specifically on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive.

The first in the series of dialogues took place in Stockholm, Sweden on 20 May 2021 with the Head of Representation Christian Danielsson and the Head of Communication at DG Energy in Brussels, Pierre Schellekens as speakers. The stakeholders, some 20 from all strands of the Swedish economy, were generally supportive of a higher level of EU ambition, but raised concerns notably on biomass and hydropower.

The participation in the dialogues is upon invitation only, but a short account of the discussion will be available after the events from this page.

Commission guidance for harmonised application of Single-Use Plastic rules

Yesterday, the European Commission has provided guidance on the EU rules on single-use plastics and has adopted an Implementing Decision on the monitoring and reporting of fishing gear placed on the market and waste fishing gear collected. These rules aim to reduce marine litter from single-use plastic products and fishing gear and promote the transition to a circular economy with innovative and sustainable business models, products, and materials. More background on the guidance can be found here.

Reminder: INESC article on Cancer Mission on Science|Business

Last week marked the publication of the fourth article written by INESC researchers published on Science|Business. Titled EU Cancer Mission depends on data, the article reflects on the role of technology and data sharing and analysis to tackle the Cancer Mission, one of the priorities of EU research. The article includes a panoramic view of INESCs health technologies projects under three major dimensions – prevention, diagnostics and treatment of cancer. We cannot but thank Joana Matos Dias (INESC Coimbra) and the entire HUB Work Group Health Technologies for their excellent work on it!

The article can also be accessed on the HUB website. Please do not hesitate to circulate it in your professional and social networks. If you use Twitter or Linkedin, remember to tag the HUB (Twitter: @HUBINESC).