European Union

Austria’s EU Presidency will focus on “strong” investment in digital health as well as on regulatory issues when it comes to access to medicines, Dr Clemens Martin Auer told EURACTIV.com in an interview. Dr Clemens Martin Auer is the president of the...

Why do we allow these firms to dictate public policy when they clearly have a commercial interest in ensuring tax legislation lets multinational corporations off the hook, and ensuring governments privatise state-owned enterprises to the benefit of their clients?

Spain’s Prime Minister signaled a thaw in relations with Catalonia yesterday (9 July), signing up to joint initiatives in a first meeting with the region’s leader but again ruling out any moves toward Catalan independence.

Jehovah's Witnesses must respect EU laws on the protection of personal data when they gather information in their door-to-door preaching activities, the European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday. Examining a case brought by the Finnish data protection authority, the judges ruled that the group was responsible for organising with the purpose of preaching, and therefore was "a controller" for the processing of data.

The EU has roundly criticised Russian aggression in Ukraine amid concern that US leader Donald Trump might break Western ranks.

Jehovan todistajat
PDON
A religious community, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, is a controller, jointly with its members who engage in preaching, for the processing of personal data carried out by the latter in the context of door-to-door preaching

The Dutch government is preparing contingency plans to be ready by October for a possible no-deal Brexit. The work has begun following unanimously agreement in the parliament last week to prepare for a collapse of negotiations "and the associated potential chaos," reports Reuters. The Netherlands is among Britain's largest trading partners, with British goods going through the port of Rotterdam.

A pilot project scheme is giving preferential treatment for interns to land highly sought-after jobs at the European Commission - bypassing the lengthy open competition for everyone else seeking the same position.

One in three members of the European Parliament (31 percent) have a paid side job, with up to 30 MEPs earning more than their MEP salary, according to an analysis of over 2,000 financial interest declarations by Transparency International. In total, the 751 MEPs have declared 1,366 activities, a 13 percent increase from the beginning of the mandate in 2014. In total MEPs earned €18-41million from side jobs since 2014.

Finnish and Swedish defence ministers signed on Monday for the first time a defence pact, covering peace and war time. The collaboration between the two non-Nato countries in defence matters has developed quickly over the past few years, with improved communications channels and joint military exercises, Finland's defence ministry said in a press release. The pact does not specify a duty to provide mutual assistance.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on Monday sworn in for another five-year term as president with new, stronger powers and named his son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, as the country's new finance minister. The Turkish lira dropped nearly three percent after the appointment of Albayrak, who served as energy minister since 2015. Former deputy prime minister Mehmet Simsek, seen as a market-friendly minister, was not reappointed.

Germany's far-right AfD has overtaken the social democrat SPD, according to an INSA survey published by Bild on Monday. The SPD lost two points, to 17 percent. The AfD gained one point compared to last week, at 17.5 percent. The survey shows the AfD is benefitting from recent turbulence inside chancellor Merkel's coalition government.

Written by Nera Kuljanic,

Scientists and Members of the European Parliament recently got together at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The aim of the event, organised jointly by the Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel of the European Parliament (EP) and the European Research Council (ERC), was to showcase Europe’s research and innovation efforts through programmes such as Horizon2020 and one of its most successful initiatives, the ERC. The event also aimed at stimulating exchanges on the role of fundamental research in designing the future of Europe. The event was very timely, as it took place just a week before the European Commission (EC) announced its proposal for Horizon Europe, the next research and innovation framework programme, due to start in 2021.

The event attracted 14 Members (including Industry, Research and Energy Committee Chair Jerzy Buzek) and 22 researchers funded by the ERC, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas and three Nobel Prize winners, among other participants. In addition, EP President Antonio Tajani, EC Vice-President Andrus Ansip and Bulgarian Minister of Education and Science Krassimir Valchev took part in the high-level science-policy debate organised the day before.

Building bridges between science and politics

Science and technology are more and more part of our everyday lives and even part of who we are. A lot of issues coming before policy-makers and politicians have a scientific or technological dimension and can be extremely complex. In addition, policy-makers need to design research and innovation programmes that will best respond to the opportunities and challenges that Europe will face over the next decade and beyond. So how do we know what these opportunities and challenges are, and how can we prepare a programme of scientific research that will deliver a meaningful response to them at the European level?

Collaboration is the answer: researchers and experts from different domains must work together, and policy-makers need to make sure the issues are put on the agenda and design policies which stimulate progress for the benefit of the whole society.

“ERC is the best thing that ever happened in Europe for the quest for knowledge”. #Nobel laureate, ERC grantees Jean-Marie Lehn speaks to @Europarl_EN. “Without basic research there is no progress” @EP_ThinkTank https://t.co/5SmnWsUmHe

— ERC Europe (@ERC_Research) May 31, 2018

“ERC is the best thing that ever happened in Europe for the quest for knowledge”. #Nobel laureate, ERC grantees Jean-Marie Lehn speaks to @Europarl_EN. “Without basic research there is no progress” @EP_ThinkTank https://t.co/5SmnWsUmHe

— ERC Europe (@ERC_Research) May 31, 2018

Terrific debate on Science and Communication, Science and Society Engagement for Social Innovationa and Social Impact @ERC_Research #ERCSTOA. Here the link to our piece coming straight from #Villaverde https://t.co/fcjm7CBIaw pic.twitter.com/1nzPKpi4y8

— Manuel Franco (@mfranco_uah) May 31, 2018

Are you already working alongside a #robot? #Digital transformation is going to affect all our workplaces – policymakers ask scientists what the impacts might be at #ERCSTOA @ClareMoodyMEP @EvaKaili @PaulRuebig #STOA pic.twitter.com/hRNIlQsm08

— EP Research Service (@EP_ThinkTank) May 30, 2018

‘Don’t be shy about what you do!’

Opening the event, Eva Kaili (EL, S&D), STOA Chair, emphasised once again that Members need to have access to the scientific evidence when working on different issues and how much they value interactions with scientists like this one. To emphasise the need for making such exchanges a regular practice, Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, ERC President, went on to point out the differences between the two worlds: science needs time, patience and perseverance, while politicians often think and act on shorter time-scales, and the two worlds seem to speak different languages.

Commissioner Carlos Moedas made a link between the exploration of the world in the 1400s and the world of research. Highlighting some of today’s remarkable discoveries by European researchers, which were hardly publicised in the media (graphene, 7 Earth-like planets orbiting a star), he told the scientists ‘Don’t be shy about what you do!’ and emphasised the importance of science communication in raising awareness and excitement about scientific progress and the potential of its discoveries. His words were echoed by Professor Jean-Marie Lehn, co-recipient of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, who invited young people to embrace a career in science: ‘Science should build bridges between disciplines and generations … It will shape the future of humanity … Participate in this!’

From rethinking the role of the car to engaging citizens through science

Besides the line-up of distinguished speakers, the highlight of the event were the parallel exchange sessions during which MEPs, ERC grantees and other participants discussed techno-scientific topics of interest to them and/or linked to their ongoing work. The exchange sessions were organised around the following topics: modern energy solutions, eco-efficient transport, sustainable management of natural resources, potentials and challenges of the information society, health and life sciences, and science policy, communication and global networking.

A more detailed account of the event is available in the report. A short video clip about the event is available here. To keep up to date with STOA activities, follow our website, the EPRS blog, Twitter and the Think Tank pages.

Click to view slideshow.

Britain is to almost double the funding it provides to countries in the Western Balkans to 80 million pounds (€90 million) and ramp up its number of security staff in the region to try and tackle organised crime gangs.

EU leaders used the 20th EU-Ukraine summit in Brussels on Monday (9 July) to press the country’s president, Petro Poroshenko, once again to take credible steps to fight rampant corruption.

The European Union needs to “significantly improve its policy package” for 2030 in order to align itself with the emission trajectories of the Paris Agreement, according to renowned Belgian climate scientist Jean-Pascal van Ypersele.

The new US ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, arrived in Brussels on Sunday and presented his credentials to European Council president Donald Tusk on Monday. Sondland is founder and CEO of Provenance Hotels, a "lifestyle" hotel chain. His political experience includes being Republican liaison between his state of Oregon and the White House in the 2000s for seven years. His predecessor Anthony Gardner resigned in January 2017.

Almost three quarters (74.3 percent) of ivory imported to the EU is illegal, a study by an Oxford University's carbon testing unit has shown. In a sample of 109 items bought in 10 EU countries by the campaign group Avaaz, 81 were found to be from after 1947, making their sale illegal without government-issued certificates. Among them, 19.3 percent dated from after 1989, when the global ivory trade was banned.

If the ongoing US government investigation into imported Spanish olives ends up imposing anti-dumping duties, it could potentially set a dangerous legal precedent and question the entire functioning of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), experts and farmers warn.

British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Jeremy Hunt as foreign minister yesterday (9 July) after predecessor Boris Johnson resigned in protest at the government's plans for a close trading relationship with the European Union.