Raad onderhandelt over Horizon 2020 en Europese Onderzoeksruimte (en)

Reaching an agreement in two more legislative proposals of Horizon 2020 and the adoption of Council Conclusions on European Research Area are the main objectives of the Cyprus Presidency i in the forthcoming Competitiveness Council i (Research) on 11 December 2012 in Brussels.

The Competitiveness Council (Research) will be chaired by Ms Eleni Mavrou, Minister of Interior of Cyprus, who has taken over the responsibility of research portfolio after the resignation of Dr Malas from the Ministry of Health on 15 October 2012. The examination of the EU Space Policy is also part of the Competitiveness Council .

The Council will commence with the space issues and Ms Mavrou will therefore chair the discussions on the relations between the EU and the European Space Agency i (ESA). The discussion will be based on the relevant Communication of the European Commission.

The Competitiveness Council will then shift its attention to other Research issues. EU Research Ministers will be invited to adopt Council Conclusions on ‘A Reinforced European Research Area Partnership for Excellence and Growth’, as well as exchange views on EU’s international cooperation strategy on research and innovation, based on the relevant Commission’s Communication that was published in September 2012. The morning session will be concluded with a presentation by the Cyprus Presidency on the outcomes of the research-related conferences held during this semester, followed by a presentation by Ireland on the work programme of the incoming Irish Presidency i.

During lunch, Professor Anne Glover, the Chief Scientific Officer to the President of the European Commission, will present to EU Research Ministers her newly established functions.

In the afternoon session, EU Research Ministers will discuss two of the legislative proposals of Horizon 2020, namely the Specific Programme Implementing Horizon 2020 and the Strategic Innovation Agenda of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Although there are still some reservations from EU delegations, the Cyprus Presidency is optimistic for reaching a consensus for a Partial General Approach on both proposals.