€30 million project lays down foundation for new European science cloud

According to Science Business, the Commission is one step closer to creating the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), a huge repository of research results, after a €30 million project completed its mission to lay the foundations for its infrastructure. The project delivered nine key results for establishing the marketplace and working environment for the cloud, including developing the EOSC Portal for accessing the resources, defining the architecture of EOSC’s functions and integrating more than 80 service providers into the portfolio. “The EOSC-hub has laid the foundations and backbone of Europe’s Open Science Cloud, making enormous strides for tackling Europe’s fragmented research ecosystem,” said project coordinator Tiziana Ferrari. The open science cloud has been in the making since 2015. By 2030, the Commission hopes the EOSC will allow 2 million European researchers to store, share and reuse data in the EU.

Renewable energy exceeds fossil fuel energy in 2020

Good news on the renewable energy front. According to the quarterly report on electricity and gas markets published by the European Commission on Friday, the share of electricity generated from renewables in the EU energy mix (39%) exceeded the share of fossil fuels (36%) in 2020 for the first time. Due to COVID-19, EU consumption of both electricity (-4%) and gas (-3%) fell from 2019 level, although, figures for the 4th quarter put consumption levels closer to the “normal levels” than in the first three quarters of 2020. COVID-19 energy demand shock and favourable weather conditions are the main causes for the sudden rise in renewable generation and consumption in 2020. Based on preliminary estimates, the carbon footprint of the power sector in the EU dropped by 14% in 2020. The full report can be read here.

EC roadmap to protect seas and oceans

DG ENV of the European Commission has published a roadmap to review the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The review, due by mid-2023, aims to more effectively and efficiently protect the marine environment while enabling a sustainable use of EU seas and oceans in line with the EU environmental agenda under the EU Green Deal. In particular, the review will assess the relevance of the directive in relation to EU Green Deal strategies such as the Biodiversity Strategy, the forthcoming Zero Pollution Action Plan, and Climate Adaptation Strategy. The roadmap is open for public feedback until May 6^th, 2021, and it will be followed by a 12 week online public consultation.

Security in the digital age: how can the public and private sectors combine to drive innovation?

Organised by DIGITALEUROPE, the discussion will focus on the challenges of security in a digital age: how can governments and international institutions like the EU and NATO support innovation in the private sector? And vice versa? Furthermore, how can we ensure that NATO and EU efforts mutually reinforce each other? More info and registration here.

Horizon EU Webinar: “Financial rules of Horizon Europe in comparison to H2020” by EMDESK

How will we calculate daily rates to report personnel costs in Horizon Europe? What are the changes with project-based remuneration reporting? And what will change with internal invoicing? It will take place on 13 April, at 13h WEST. Register here.