In today’s Morning Brief:

Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference 2022

The fifth edition of the annual Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference will take place in hybrid format on 1 and 2 March 2022, with a focus on sustainable products for sustainable consumption. The European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee have joined forces with the French Presidency of the European Union to organise this flagship stakeholder conference, gathering decision makers, businesses, public authorities, NGOs, knowledge communities and civil society organisations to discuss ways to advance the transition to a circular economy in Europe. Participants will have the opportunity to grow their network of circular partners, and discussions will focus on upcoming milestones in the implementation of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, including the sustainable products initiative and the sustainable textiles strategy.

Click here for more information.

2022 Common Fisheries policy and Common Market organization reports: still time to take part in consultation

All stakeholders, including the fishing industry, non-governmental organisations, academic, scientific, social and economic partners are invited to share their views in the online questionnaire by 14 March 2022.

The Commission will deliver the reports by the end of 2022, as announced in article 48 of the CFP Regulation and 48 of the CMO Regulation.

The objective of the CFP report is to address the functioning of the CFP and look at how we can strengthen its implementation. The CFP Regulation sets out that the implementation of the CFP is guided by the principles of good governance, taking into account regional specificities, through a regionalised approach, as well as appropriate involvement of stakeholders at all stages. To close the consultation process, the Commission will organise a stakeholder event on Friday 10 June 2022.

The final reports will also be based on the supporting studies, referred to in the corresponding chapters of the questionnaires, as well as the on-going initiatives and reports in the PECH committee.

Click here to find more information and the questionnaires.

Denmark tells universities to suspend all cooperation with Russia

According to this Science|Business article, “Denmark has become the second European country to sever academic ties to Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. This afternoon the country’s research minister Jesper Petersen wrote to universities to urge them to suspend research and innovation cooperation with institutions in Russia and Belarus. He also told them to refrain from any new exchanges, according to a statement posted by the country’s research ministry. “I call on universities and higher education institutions to suspend their cooperation with institutions in Russia and Belarus,” he said in a statement. “This would be a clear signal that aggression leads to isolation in the international community. “The Government condemns the actions of Russia and Belarus and supports Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” he added. The Danish move comes after Germany last week said it would cut academic ties in response to the invasion.”.

EU Knowledge Valorization Week 2022: Join, Discuss, Exchange!

Registration is now open for the EU Knowledge Valorization Week taking place from 29 March to 1 April, with the aim to translate research and innovation results into tangible solutions for a resilient and sustainable Europe. The virtual event will showcase best examples of policies and tools that promote the uptake of research results for the benefit of all. It is a forum to discuss challenges and highlight opportunities with a wide range of stakeholders.

Universities, business associations, research organizations, arts institutions, amongst others have helped shape the programme by sharing their best practices. Complemented by highly topical panel discussions and ‘Valorization cafés’ for debate amongst participants. The 2022 week is more than ever a place of exchange and collaboration.

Click here for more information and to register!

The Guild warns EU data does not ensure fair access to research data

University associations are warning Brussels the new Data Act does not provide enough means to ensure a fair access to privately held data for research purposes.

In a statement published on Monday, the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities said the European Council and Parliament should “recognise that research is an activity conducted in the public interest and that research is crucial to ‘respond to a public emergency’, ‘prevent a public emergency’, and ‘assist the recovery from a public emergency’.”

The full statement is available here.

European Innovation Council opens €1.7 billion funding round

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has launched today three calls worth a total of €1.7 billion to select innovative companies for scale-up funding. The calls cover multi-disciplinary research teams working on potential technology breakthroughs in any field and to turn research results into innovation opportunities.

Some of the money will be routed to mature technologies based on proof of concept projects funded by the European Research Council (ERC). About €60 million will go to projects on “green digital devices for the future” and a clean energy technologies.

Commission announces first 50 recipients of Women TechEU grants

The European Commission has announced today the first 50 women-led companies to receive €75,000 grants each. The money would help companies working on deep-tech innovations to get started.  The Women TechEU programme is funded through Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation fund.

“We will assist these 50 women-led companies with funding, mentoring and networking opportunities and we will scale up this programme in 2022,” said Mariya Gabriel, EU commissioner for research and innovation.

Projects will start in spring 2022 and are expected to run for 6 to 12 months. The winners will be given tailored coaching and mentoring in the European Innovation Council’s women’s leadership programme. Click here for more information.

Creating a hydrogen economy: a bumpy road ahead for the EU

In this EURACTIV column by Maximo Miccinilli, Senior Vice-President and Head of Energy and Climate at FleishmanHillard EU, he states that “It is time to face it. The EU is pursuing a titanesque task: defining a regulatory framework that can support the massive development of a continent-wide hydrogen economy from scratch. A mission that seems as challenging as reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The current context of high energy prices and a major conflict with Russia, further threatening security of supply, makes it even harder. The negotiations on the package of measures that are meant to align the body of EU’s policies with its short and long-term climate targets – collectively known as ‘Fit for 55’ – has just entered a very delicate phase both in the European Parliament and Council. Policymakers are expected to strike a balance between resolving a pressing energy crisis, implementing climate policies that put the bloc on a path towards climate neutrality, and defining policies to alleviate distributional effects. More than ever before they see hydrogen as a perfect way to wean the European economy off fossil fuels, decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors (especially heavy industry and transport) and – most importantly – to do it affordably. However, there are three important reasons why the road ahead to build the fully fledged hydrogen economy will be thorny and more complex than usually suggested.” Make sure to read it here.

Commission appoints top scientists as members of the European Research Council’s governing body

The European Commission has appointed three new members of the European Research Council’s (ERC) governing body, the Scientific Council.

They are appointed for an initial period of four years and will take office on 2 March.

The three new members are:

• Professor Chryssa Kouveliotou, professor at the George Washington University, Washington D.C., United States;
• Professor László Lovász, professor emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary;
• Professor Giovanni Sartor, professor at the University of Bologna and at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.

“This addition will ensure that the independent ERC Scientific Council with its leading researchers from all disciplines continues to represent the scientific community in Europe across the full breadth of research domains,” said ERC president Maria Leptin.

Click here for more information.