Commission adopts proposal for a Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe

Today, the European Commission adopted its proposal for a Council Recommendation on “A Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe” to support the implementation of national European Research Area (ERA) policies.

The Pact proposal defines shared priority areas for joint action in support of the ERA, sets out the ambition for investments and reforms, and constitutes the basis for a simplified policy coordination and monitoring process at EU and Member States’ level through an ERA platform where Member States can share their reform and investment approaches to enhance exchanges of best practices.

Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said: "The pandemic has shown us the importance of uniting research and innovation efforts that swiftly bring results to the market. It has shown us the importance of investment in jointly agreed strategic priorities between Member states and the EU. The Pact for Research and Innovation we propose today, will facilitate better collaboration and join our efforts to tackle research and innovation objectives that matter the most for Europe. And it will allow all of us to learn from each other".

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: "The Pact for Research and Innovation is the first milestone in our ambition for a simplified and more efficient European Research Area. The objective of the Pact is to foster the future dialogue process with key actors putting a clear emphasis on sharing best practices and facilitating the collaboration of Member States to invest in and coordinate on common research and innovation objectives".

The Pact is aimed to be the long-standing foundation for the EU’s commitment to the new European Research Area (ERA). It will build on common principles for research and innovation in Europe, including values like freedom of scientific research, equal opportunities for all, free circulation of researchers and knowledge, inclusiveness and societal responsibility.

Importantly, to ensure an impactful ERA, the Pact foresees the engagement with research and innovation stakeholders.