International collaboration in the fields of research and science is the key to combatting global societal challenges.

The European Commission has recently published a communication entitled ‘A global approach to research and innovation – EU’s strategy for international cooperation in a changing world’. The last time that the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EU Governments had put in place an agreed international policy covering the research and science sectors was in 2012. The world is now a very different place than it was nine years ago. The geo-political situation is changing. Governments are also now prioritising various policies such as sustainable development and the growth of innovative technologies to a greater extent than they were a number of years ago.

Core elements of the new EU approach to international collaboration.

This new communication is not a dramatic shift in the nature and focus of EU policies covering the research, innovation and science sectors. But there is a shift of emphasis nonetheless.?EU research programmes such as Horizon Europe 2021-2027 will remain open to the world. The best way to pursue excellence in science is by cooperating globally with a broad range of public, private, research and educational bodies. There must be a level playing field for Europe within the global research eco-system. What this means in practice is that EU scientists must be able to participate in the wide array of research initiatives that are operated by different third countries around the world. The European Union is going to become more assertive in insisting that reciprocal and open access are central elements of these programmes. In this context, global systems to support the fair treatment for Intellectual Property (IP) rights must also be advanced. This is very much in line with the open strategic autonomy policy goals of the European Union. The European Union will strengthen its international partnerships covering the health, education and climate change policy areas. In essence, this new EU strategy is going to be a key tool in assisting the European Union in fully implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Support for the twin-track approach of bringing to fruition both new innovative technologies and best practices within the field of sustainability will be promoted.

?Combatting global challenges together.

The European Commission will work very closely with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and with the European Bank for Re-Construction and Development (EBRD) in delivering upon the key priorities of this new strategy. The roll-out of the European Research Area (ERA) action plan will be incorporated into this broader policy framework. In other words, there will be a closer alignment in how the European Union and the 27 member states of the EU address international research policy-making.

The European Union wants to strengthen the process of multi-lateral engagement so as to develop stronger and more innovative digital economies.?A clear focus will be to support energy efficient technologies that will construct and re-design more energy efficient buildings across the world. This is line with what is known as the EU Bauhaus initiative that entails building more sustainable, creative and affordable buildings and to do so in an inclusive manner. This is fully in accordance with the policy objectives of the EU Green Deal.????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Other key priorities contained within this strategy include the following:-

To promote a leadership role for Europe within the field of 6G research.

Establish a knowledge based management platform that will disseminate best practices within the international policy field of research and science.

Build joint research clusters covering the industrial sector.

Deliver upon the political objectives of the EU Digital Compass Plan 2030.

Association of 3rd countries to Horizon Europe.

Countries from anywhere around the world can apply to the EU to associate to Horizon Europe 2021-2027. Such third countries must operate free market economies and have strong systems in place to protect intellectual property rights. Association to EU research initiatives give countries an input into the direction and nature of different Horizon Europe call for proposals. Countries that are associated to Horizon Europe get a seat at the decision making table – as so to speak – with regard to agreeing the content for different proposed Horizon Europe actions. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Moldova, North Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine have been recently associated to the EU Horizon 2020 research and science instrument. These countries now automatically associate to Horizon Europe and the British government will join too.

EU and China.

The European Union will seek to strike more bilateral science and technology (S&T) agreements with different countries from around the world. At the moment, the EU has S&T agreements with Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand and Russia. It is the objective of the EU to renew its science and technology agreement with China but ensuring access to Chinese research programmes for European scientists must be a key element of such an agreement. The European Union and China have worked closely together for many years on a variety of different research collaborative projects covering the ict, health, education, agriculture and smart city sectors. In fact, the first Science and Technology agreement that was signed between the EU and China dates back to 1998.

The European Union will continue to promote more inclusive dialogues covering research and science policy issues with a variety of different regions and continents. This includes Africa, the Black Sea, Central Asia, the Eastern Partnership, the Gulf, Latin America and the Mediterranean region. The European Union fully recognises that science diplomacy can support the foreign policy objectives of the European Union. It can also promote new business opportunities in both existing and in emerging markets. International cooperation in the fields of research and science will ensure that the most innovative products and services reach the global marketplace. Such international collaborative engagement will help deliver more innovative best practices for society. This will ensure that the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be successfully reached by 2030.

David Harmon is the director of EU Public Affairs at Huawei Technologies.

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