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In today's Morning Brief:
Towards a Code of Practice for Smart Use of IP
The communication “A New Era for research and innovation” announces the development of the Code of Practice for the smart use of intellectual property (IP) to translate research results into the economy ensuring market uptake and Europe’s competitive leadership in technology.
Have your say on the content of the Code of Practice by replying to this new survey, published earlier this morning.
EU Open Data Days
Data will play a key role in our future. Sometimes called ‘the new oil’, they form a basis for research and innovation and for the development of new products, services and powerful technologies. Innovations arising from open data will improve our lives and boost economic growth. The Publications Office of the European Union is organising the EU Open Data Days that will take place from 23 to 25 November 2021. This event will give you a unique opportunity to meet the open data community, share experience with experts in the field and explore successful data-driven projects. This fully online event will start with EU DataViz 2021, a conference on open data and data visualisation, on 23 and 24 November. It will close with the finale of EU Datathon, the annual open data competition, on 25 November. All the info here.
Carbon economy – Studies on support to research and innovation policy in the area of bio-based products and services
This report aims to map out the current pathways available for the transition towards a low carbon economy as well as the barriers that hinder this transition. Based on key findings, the authors set the scene for the future of the bio-based sector with a particular focus on ten case studies of regions and cities across the EU. The report includes as well an evaluation of promising innovations and novel technologies for the realisation of such an economy and a sweeping analysis on EU directives and regulations that pertain to the low carbon economy. The attention to the local level as well as the broader policy sphere is supported by a scientific understanding of the low carbon economy, potential future scenarios towards 2050 as well as clear dissemination of the findings across the entire study.
Zero pollution action plan
Last week the European Commission has published the Zero pollution action plan and the relative factsheet. The zero pollution action plan sets out an integrated vision of the EU for 2050, with its main goal being the reduction of pollution to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and natural ecosystems, and sets out the steps to get there. The action plan also spells out the need for Europe to halve premature deaths caused by air pollution by 2030 and bring air quality standards closer to WHO guidelines. However, the idea to “more closely” align European air quality standards with WHO guidelines has come under criticism for not being new, as this objective was already part of the revision of air quality standards published in December 2020. The action plan also sets targets for reducing pollution in water and soil by 2030 with the aim of reaching “zero pollution” by 2050. It includes targets to tackle plastic pollution, aiming at halving plastic litter in the sea and residual municipal waste by 2030 and cutting microplastics released into the environment by 30%. The plan also calls for a change in consumption and production towards zero waste without slowing down economic activities. The action plan and the factsheet are also available in the Private Area of this website, together with other useful factsheet and policy documents.
Global data transfer uncertainty to jeopardise EU digital ambitions
According to a sponsored article on Euractiv, EU GDPR regulation came into force, confusion over international data transfers following the landmark Schrems II ruling is threatening to hamper new technologies and jeopardise the bloc’s digital agenda. GDPR enforcement is left to the member states’ Data Protection Authorities (DPAs). For third countries where data protection level is not considered adequate by the EU, the individual DPAs are left to interpret the requirements on their own. Too loose an interpretation is a risk to GDPR, while too strict an interpretation risks creating additional barriers to global data transfer. What’s more, legislative ambiguity or strict regulation might create barriers or raise the cost of accessing the EU digital market. Data transfers are at the core of international trade and technological exchanges. Unpredictable data flows could marginalise European technological development and jeopardise the bloc’s digital ambitions.
Digital Service’s Act to tackle online disinformation
According to a leaked paper, the European Commission has been pitching the Digital Services Act’s (DSA) measures to tackle online disinformation to national governments. Following the publication of the proposal last December, several EU countries were reported as requesting that the DSA be beefed up to address harmful content, notably Germany, Austria and Finland. The Commission presents its approach as risk-based and focusing on the systemic level rather than the specific content. Facebook is mentioned several times as a platform where fake and harmful content was disseminated, together with TikTok. One of the main legislative initiatives on the Commission’s digital agenda, the DSA is intended to regulate digital services that mediate goods, services and content.
More Articles
26/05/2023: New Horizon Europe calls, a global drive for open science, European Commission DG RTD recent reorganisation, EU-China & much more
In today’s Morning Brief:
Horizon Europe
– Twinning call for proposals is open – Read all about it
– Horizon Europe ERA Fellowships call is now open
– EUR 20 million available for Pathways to synergies – Call for proposals
– New Horizon Europe funding opportunity: Dissemination & Exploitation Support Facility call
– Commission Open Call: Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe
– Industry 5.0 Award contest opens: apply by 1 September 2023
– Horizon Europe: The EU and the Republic of Korea launch formal negotiations on association to the programme
– European Space Agency chief seeks ‘forward-looking decisions’
Research & Innovation:
– EU research ministers make fresh call for a full transition to free open access publishing
– Open Science: stakeholders welcome European efforts towards publicly owned and not-for-profit scholarly communication
– Global drive for more open, rigorous research is growing
– European Commission sets up new European Innovation Council unit in the research directorate
– Spain wants EU presidency to be ‘bridge’ with Latin American R&D
– Green industry law haunted by old conflicts over nuclear, financing
– The five EU research projects involving China’s military-linked universities
– Critical Raw Materials: EU ministers want to move fast but dilemmas abound
– G7 ministers call for rules to improve research security
– Territorial Economic Data viewer supports policy monitoring
News from INESC institutes:
– INESC Brussels HUB is signing an Open Letter regarding changes to Who is Who in EC Directorate
– ECI Cruelty-free cosmetics – Consultation to adhere to joint final statement
– Structuring the ecosystem: RTOs collaboration with higher education institutions
– INESC TEC develops pioneering research in the application of variational quantum circuits to reinforcement learning
– INOV: MULTICAM prototypes, an online presentation on Blockchain and 5000 followers
– Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops
19/05/2023: HUB Summer Meeting, Digital Europe Programme, Regional Innovation Valleys, European R&I funding and policy, and much more
In today’s Morning Brief:
Horizon Europe
– Commission Expert Group on the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe
– Commission launches first €122M call to create regional innovation ecosystems
– New calls for proposals of the Digital Europe Programme
Research & Innovation:
– EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel resigns
– France to boost funding for health research infrastructures and UK to invest £100M in improving RIs
– Commission takes European Innovation Council management under its wing
– Industry 5.0 Award: The contest is open for applications
– AI Act moves ahead in EU Parliament with key committee vote
– Defence industry renews call for R&D spending boost
News from INESC institutes:
– Technology and Law: building a virtuous relationship, by Graça Barbosa
– The 2022 INESC-ID AnnualReport is out
– Exciting news from H2020-RESCUER
– Launch of the New Horizon Europe Project SYCLOPS
– INESC TEC supports the implementation of robotic technologies to reduce the ecological footprint
– INESC TEC develops virtual reality app to support youngster looking for jobs
– Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops
05/05/2023: HE calls update, cohesion policy, open access, open science, cohesion policy and coordination of national and EU R&D policy.
In today’s Morning Brief:
Horizon Europe
– Horizon Europe – easy call and topic search
– From KOWI: MSCA: Model Working Contract for Doctoral Networks published
Research & Innovation:
– Report on the outcome of 2021-2027 cohesion policy programming
– Spain adopts national open access strategy
– Commission attempts to strengthen coordination between national R&D policies and EU research programs
– Commission Plans to launch a European Standardisation Panel survey
– Research funders draw attention to uneven implementation of open science
– EIT Climate to become financially sustainable by end of 2024
– Preparing for Belgium’s Thirteenth Presidency of the Council of the European Union
– African Union-European Union High Level Policy Dialogue – Science, Technology and Innovation. Senior official meet to endorse the AU-EU Innovation Agenda
News from INESC institutes:
– INESC MN has a new publication in Advanced Materials Journal
– INOV projects on Youtube
– Diogo Vaz published an article in Público
– Job Opportunities
Events & Training workshops