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EU postpones vote on landmark nature restoration law

Euobserver.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 17:33
EU delays Nature Restoration Law vote after a Sweden, the Netherlands and Hungary retracted their support.
Categories: European Union

Commission presents five pillars for quantum development

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 17:27
The European Commission presented on Friday (22 March) five pillars that will form the basis of an action plan to boost Europe's competitiveness in quantum computing, a rapidly growing technology that solves problems too complex for classical computers. 
Categories: European Union

BREAKING: Nature restoration law fails to secure support at critical member states meeting

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 17:12
Hungary’s last minute decision to withdraw support for the proposal means that the law’s future is uncertain. A planned vote during Monday’s (25 March) meeting of national environmental ministers is now postponed.
Categories: European Union

EU imposes duties on Russian food commodities to appease Eastern European farmers

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 16:47
The European Commission proposed to increase tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grains and oilseeds imports to prevent the destabilisation of the EU market, the funding of Russian aggression against Ukraine and to try to defuse the protests on the Ukrainian-Polish border.
Categories: European Union

[Analysis] An UK-EU defence deal is back on agenda: what could it look like?

Euobserver.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 16:38
An EU-UK treaty on defence and security policy is back on the agenda. What it might look like is less clear.
Categories: European Union

Will the EU finally move to integrate financial markets?

Euobserver.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 16:24
Cash-strapped EU governments reiterate their call for a Capital Market Union, with new discussions planned for April, but a compromise remains uncertain.
Categories: European Union

The Brief – EU industry: Uncompetitive by design?

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 16:17
As we approach the European elections, competitiveness is the talk of the hour. And yet, with industrial competitiveness taking centre stage in economic policy debates, it is worth keeping in mind that rising carbon prices will make some industries even less competitive in the future – by design.
Categories: European Union

Germany legalises cannabis federally but local opposition anticipated

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 15:59
After numerous delays, the planned legalisation of cannabis consumption in Germany has passed its last major obstacle - the Bundesrat (Federal Council) and while future growers remain relaxed, they do anticipate further resistance on the local level.
Categories: European Union

Kremlin, in change of language, says Russia is ‘at war’ due to West’s role in Ukraine

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 14:50
Russia regards itself to be at war due to the West's intervention on Ukraine's side, the Kremlin said on Friday (22 March), shifting the language it uses to describe the conflict in an apparent move to prepare Russians for a longer and harder struggle.
Categories: European Union

Agenda - The Week Ahead 25 – 31 March 2024

European Parliament - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 14:42
External parliamentary activities

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP
Categories: European Union

Four more EU countries ready to recognise Palestinian state ‘when circumstances right’

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 14:30
.Ireland, Malta, Slovenia, and Spain said on Friday (22 March) they are ready to recognise the state of Palestine as the “only way to achieve peace and security” in the war-ridden region.
Categories: European Union

59/2024 : 22 March 2024 - Information

European Court of Justice (News) - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 14:12
Judicial statistics 2023: confirmation of the structural increase in litigation before the Court of Justice

Categories: European Union

Charting the Course: Exploring Challenges and Opportunities in Open Science

Written by Eszter Fay with Niklas Dreier.

In the fast-evolving landscape of scientific research, the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) Academic Freedom Roundtable ‘Research Integrity in Open Science for Europe’ brought together researchers and European policymakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by Open Science. Amidst insightful discussions on Open Science’s challenges and ethical dimensions, the event, held on 21 February 2024, invited us to question who truly benefits from Open Science’s promise of transparency and societal impact? How does Open Science reshape our understanding of research excellence?

Open Science as a policy priority for the European Union

As we navigate a time where scepticism toward science is prevalent, STOA Vice-Chair Ivars Ijabs (Renew, Latvia) underscored the need to increase transparency and trustworthiness in scientific endeavours by facilitating Open Science. EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth Iliana Ivanova reaffirmed the EU’s policy commitment to promoting Open Science. Yet, in this very endeavour, Commissioner Ivanova emphasised the importance of developing assessment methods that measure research excellence beyond traditional measures such as citations. The evaluative focus, she noted, should be on rewarding and fostering research with a positive societal impact. These introductory remarks thus raised the question: Who benefits from Open Science research?

Open Science for and by whom?

Professor Frank Miedema, from the University of Utrecht, stressed in his keynote on ‘Science in Transition’ the need to question why and for whom we should pursue Open Science. He advocated for a shift from ‘science for science’ to ‘science for society’, echoing Commissioner Ivanova’s position. While advocating for more data accessibility, Professor Miedema also highlighted the importance of considering scenarios where withholding research data might be pertinent. Likewise, Marcel Bogers, Professor of Open & Collaborative Innovation at Eindhoven University of Technology, cautioned against excessive data openness, drawing parallels between Open Science and his expertise in open innovation. Referring to a recent open innovation study, he demonstrated that beyond an optimal threshold, excessive openness may detrimentally affect performance. Professor Bogers asserted that advancing Open Science would require a reassessment of how research is incentivised, alluding to challenges linked to fostering and evaluating the excellence of Open Science research.

Assessing research quality: Challenges to Open Science

The subsequent panel discussed the challenges hindering the transition to Open Science. Dr Elizabeth Gadd, Head of Research Culture & Assessment at Loughborough University, underscored the need to revamp the incentive and assessment system for research. Dr Gadd introduced the INORMS SCOPE Framework as a solution to assess research quality beyond traditional citation metrics, thereby also mitigating global inequalities in scientific output assessment. The SCOPE framework, an acronym for START, CONTEXT, OPTIONS, PROBE, and EVALUATE, offers a comprehensive five-stage model for responsible research evaluation, guiding evaluators in planning and assessing research endeavours. This framework is based on three principles advocating a discerning and strategic approach to evaluation. First, evaluating only where necessary, stressing the importance of considering alternative strategies. Second, evaluating with the evaluated, emphasising collaboration and inclusivity by involving the communities or individuals under evaluation. Third, drawing on evaluation expertise, underscoring the necessity for a thorough and informed evaluation process aligned with academic research standards to ensure validity, reliability and comprehensive understanding.

Signe Mezinska, Associate Professor at the University of Latvia, emphasised the social disparities within the scientific community and across countries, especially regarding the economic costs associated with publishing according to Open Science principles. Elaborating on these inequalities, Henriikka Mustajoki, Head of Development, Open Science, Finland, grounded the justification for the Open Science movement in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While advocating for data accessibility to all, she acknowledged the potential systemic pressures that widespread openness might pose to Open Science researchers’ academic freedom and freedom of speech. Kadri Simm, Chair of Practical Philosophy at the University of Tartu, and Olivier Le Gall, Chair of the French Advisory Board on Research Integrity, further identified potential challenges arising from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, particularly regarding confidentiality in handling diverse data sources. To address these challenges, the experts on the panel delved into the ethical dimensions of Open Science and discussed the Responsible Open Science in Europe (ROSiE) guidelines as a potential solution to ethical conflicts.

An ethical framework for Open Science: Responsible Open Science in Europe (ROpen ScienceiE) general guidelines and academic freedom

Professor Rose Bernabe from the University of Oslo presented the ROSiE guidelines project and advocated for their inclusion in the European definition of academic freedom. Funded by the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, the project aims to collaboratively develop and foster foundational tools that facilitate responsible Open Science and research integrity. As Dr Simm noted that specific approaches to Open Science conflict with each other, she also emphasised that the ROpen ScienceiE guidelines represent a promising initial move towards establishing a comprehensive ethical framework for Open Science.

The STOA Academic Freedom Roundtable highlighted the complexity and urgency of navigating the Open Science landscape. The event not only underscored the benefits of Open Science but also called attention to the challenges, which demand collaborative solutions. As we chart a course towards Open Science, embracing diverse perspectives and establishing responsible guidelines will be crucial to ensuring a future where research serves society while preserving academic freedom and ethical integrity.

For more details, you can watch the event recording.

Read the ESMH interview with Teodora Konach from the ROSiE project on ‘Paving the way towards responsible open science‘.

Your opinion matters to us. To let us know what you think, get in touch via stoa@europarl.europa.eu and follow us on X at @EP_ScienceTech.

Categories: European Union

‘TikTok Taoiseach’: Simon Harris set to be Ireland’s youngest PM

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 13:24
Simon Harris, set to become Ireland's youngest ever taoiseach (prime minister), will hope his social media skills and fresh face can save his party's flagging fortunes as elections loom.
Categories: European Union

EU Parliament votes new measures for AI factories, ECJ rules against law on fingerprints in national IDs

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 13:21
Welcome to Euractiv’s Tech Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU.
Categories: European Union

Melons, tomatoes and geopolitics

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 12:48
Melons and tomatoes from the Western Sahara, the main crops in the contested territory, should be labelled as such and not as originating from Morocco, according to an opinion by Tamara Ćapeta, an advocate general at the EU’s top court, issued on Thursday (21 March).
Categories: European Union

The elusive question of what can save Europe from deindustrialisation

Euractiv.com - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 12:39
Record interest rates, slowing global demand, massive Chinese and US industrial subsidies, and high energy prices are laying waste to the EU’s industrial base. Can Europe reverse the decline?
Categories: European Union

Debate: EU summit: a turning point for aid to Ukraine?

Eurotopics.net - Fri, 03/22/2024 - 12:32
The EU leaders have decided to go ahead and use profits from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine. Prior to the decision, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had repeatedly called for the assets to be confiscated but failed to gain majority support. Commentators are happy that Europe has recognised the seriousness of the situation, but for some it is still too sluggish in its actions.
Categories: European Union

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