The COMPET Council met in Brussels. The ministers discussed research and space

At the meeting, the ministers also discussed the role of science as a tool for making evidence-based policy decisions and the concept of technological infrastructures, i.e. testing and experimental facilities used to validate the applicability of new technologies in industrial production.

"This meeting concluded a substantial part of the political agenda of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council. By adopting a pair of EU Council Conclusions, the Ministers of the Member States set out the objectives for the direction of the European research, infrastructure and innovation ecosystem. The ministerial debate then confirmed the central role of science as a tool for informed, evidence-based policy decisions. In the weeks of December, we will still have to negotiate the implementation of the European Chips Act, but it can already be said that the Czech Republic has fulfilled its tasks as the presiding country to an excellent standard and has met all its political ambitions," said Vladimír Balaš, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, in his assessment of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.

EU Council conclusions on research infrastructures

At the very beginning of the meeting, EU Ministers approved the EU Council conclusions on research infrastructures. The EU Council conclusions set out priorities for the development of the European research infrastructure ecosystem up to 2030. They highlight the key role of research infrastructures as a tool for achieving knowledge-based solutions to major socio-economic challenges of European and global relevance. They call for ensuring adequate conditions for the long-term sustainable development of research infrastructures. They stress the need for further convergence of research infrastructure policy with other sectoral policies. Last but not least, they call for strengthening the European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) in terms of its operational capacity, or for strengthening the digital dimension of European research infrastructures and stepping up their international cooperation at global level.

EU Council conclusions on the New European Innovation Agenda

The second of the key documents approved by EU Ministers was the EU Council conclusions on the New European Innovation Agenda. The EU Council conclusions respond to the need to further strengthen the European innovation ecosystem to make the EU a global innovation leader and provide policy direction on how to achieve this goal. The EU's ambition is to revise the regulatory environment for innovation to facilitate access to venture capital for deep-tech, start-ups and SMEs developing breakthrough innovations; to strengthen the entrepreneurial skills of innovation chain actors; to improve the networking of innovation stakeholders in the EU in order to concentrate the critical mass needed to achieve open EU strategic autonomy in critical technology domains; or to close the persistent gaps in research and innovation performance between European macro-regions.

EU Council Recommendation on Knowledge Valorisation

A complementary document to the EU Council conclusions on the New European Innovation Agenda is the EU Council Recommendation on Knowledge Valorisation. Although Europe holds the global lead in knowledge production, it is not able to apply this knowledge in industrial applications as effectively as other macro-regions of the world. Strengthening the ability to transfer knowledge from the scientific environment into practice, i.e. into goods and services that create new European and global markets, is therefore one of the EU's key ambitions for the near future. The EU Council Recommendation negotiated by the Czech Presidency of the EU Council provides measures to meet these ambitions.

The trio of policy documents mentioned above and adopted complement the previously discussed and endorsed EU Council Conclusions on Widening, the Prague Declaration on Synergies in Research and Innovation Funding in Europe and the Brno Declaration on the Development of a Global Ecosystem of Research Infrastructures. During December, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU will prepare further EU Council conclusions on synergies. However, in view of the deadline for the publication of the European Court of Auditors' Special Report, to which the EU Council Conclusions are intended to respond, the negotiations will have to be completed in the first half of 2023, i.e. during the incoming Swedish Presidency of the EU Council.

Space was also discussed

The morning session on research was followed in the afternoon by a meeting of EU space ministers. The meeting was chaired by Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka. The main focus of the ministers was a policy debate on the use of space data in the European Union.

The potential of such data involves both the public and private sectors, with the idea that data from space systems can, for example, guide rescue teams in areas affected by natural disasters, improve land use in agriculture or enhance the safety of transport and energy infrastructure.

"The Czech Presidency pays great attention to space. Data from satellites help us in our everyday lives, we use them in car navigation, precision agriculture and in monitoring climate change. In today's rapidly changing world, the security of space activities and data is also important. I am therefore pleased that, during our six months in office, we have managed to reach an agreement on the text of the regulation on the Secure Connectivity programme, now called IRIS2, between the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission. The aim is to build a space infrastructure of many hundreds of satellites that will provide secure, reliable and affordable autonomous connectivity for EU users," said Transport Minister Martin Kupka.

As the Czech Presidency is coming to an end, and today's meeting was the last of this formation, Minister Kupka handed over the imaginary Presidency baton to Sweden. The Swedish delegation also informed the ministers present about the programme of the forthcoming Swedish Presidency.

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