EU cybersecurity research centre ready to launch

The legal framework of the new EU Cybersecurity Competence Centre and its corresponding network of national centres was approved today, allowing the new centre aimed at boosting EU cybersecurity research and capacity to come to live. The new centre is currently being established in Bucharest with the help of the European Commission. Once fully up and running, it will coordinate the work of national cybersecurity agencies, pool resources from EU, member state and industry funds, and define a roadmap for the development and deployment of cybersecurity innovations.

[Report] Measuring what ecosystems do for us: new report on ecosystem services in the EU

Ecosystems contribute essential services to the economy and society. These include the provision of food, filtration of air and water, pollination, climate regulation, protection against extreme weather events such as heat waves and flooding, and many more. The ability of ecosystems to supply these services depends on their extent (‘size’) and condition (‘health’).

Ecosystem accounting is an emerging field that aims to provide an internationally agreed guidance to measure and record changes in ecosystems and ecosystem services in a consistent and comparable manner. In the context of the European Green Deal, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 is calling for the establishment of an international natural capital accounting initiative.

Led by Eurostat, the European Commission and the European Environment Agency have established an Integrated System of Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services Accounting for the EU – INCA. INCA contains three types of accounts: extent, condition and ecosystem services. The first two track the changes in natural capital: the total area of ecosystems and their condition or integrity.

As part of the project, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre developed a new methodology to unravel how ecosystem services flow from nature to our economy. More info here

Today a new report “Accounting for­ ecosystems and their­ services in the­ European Union” unravels the benefits that forests, rivers, grasslands, wetlands and other ecosystems provide. It shows how restoring degraded ecosystems has the potential to double nature’s contribution to the EU economy and society.

Further information:

• Integrated System of Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services Accounting (INCA)
• Biodiversity Strategy for 2030
• System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA)

[Analysis] Technical staff left out as PhDs drive academic hierarchy

Nature recently published an analytical article on the role of the technical staff (including lab technicians and research managers). Its main conclusion is already explicit in the title of the article and basically states that failure to acknowledge support roles weakens the team, and the science. Read the full article here. You may also want to follow the work being developed in Portugal by the PIC – Plataforma de Interface à Ciência and their recent public petition calling for support to the inclusion of the area of R&I management in the ministerial “pact for the reinforcement of the scientific institutions and careers”.

Webinar on Iberian Electricity Market Simulation

A new energy webinar will be organised in July 13, at 3 pm, under the motto “Iberian Electricity Market Simulation”. José Villar (INESC TEC), José Carlos Sousa (EDP Produção), André Rodrigues Oliveira (INESC TEC), and Pablo Rodilla (Comillas Pontifical University) will be responsible for leading this webinar. João Peças Lopes will be in charge of the moderation. The webinar will include an open discussion on the future of the Iberian Electricity Market where João Tomé Saraiva (INESC TEC/FEUP) will also participate. You are all welcome! Please register here to attend. Soon after completing the form, you will receive an email from the organisation with the Zoom access keys.

EU Open Data Days

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. More info here.

Long-term vision for rural areas: Commission publishes public opinion survey on rural areas

A majority of EU citizens support the EU including rural areas in public spending decisions. The key need of rural areas most mentioned is transport infrastructure and connections, according to the latest EU-wide Eurobarometer survey of public opinion about rural areas published today by the European Commission. The survey was conducted from 9 to 18 April 2021, including more than 25,841 respondents in 27 Member States. The Flash survey contributed to assessing which priorities the Long-term Vision for rural areas should focus on, complementing the open public consultation conducted by the Commission from 7 September to 30 November 2020.