Всички съобщения за пресата

Wednesday, 09 December 2009

• EU-CHINA: Leaders sign second renewal for Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement
  Today, the second 5 year renewal of the Science and Technology (S&T) Cooperation Agreement between EU and China enters into force. This second renewal was agreed on 30 November 2009 at the 12th EU-China Summit in Nanjing, China and signed at a ceremony attended by both the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Through the S&T Cooperation Agreement, EU and China will further expand their cooperation in the field of science and technology in order to meet global challenges such as climate change and energy security.

Monday, 07 December 2009

• European Research offers solutions for climate change prevention and adaptation
  The future of human civilisation is in the spotlight at the international climate change negotiations of COP15 in Copenhagen. While politicians from all over the world are still looking for solutions, researchers have already started working. The European Union has supported the brightest brains working together in international teams addressing the topic.

Friday, 04 December 2009

• Europe boosts budgets of national fellowship programmes
  Transnational mobility opens up new horizons for researchers. The attractiveness of Europe for the best researchers and their career development has become a major concern for European competitiveness. The €140 million, injected by the European Commission during 2008 and 2009 as part of a new action will generate about 3.400 fellowships for researchers. By 2013, the end of the Seventh RTD Framework Programme, it is expected that 14.000 researchers will have benefitted from this action.

Monday, 30 November 2009

• European Community signs a Science & Technology Cooperation Agreement with Jordan
  Today, the European Community (EC) signed a Science and Technology (S&T) Cooperation Agreement with Jordan. This agreement will help structure and enhance S&T cooperation in areas of common interest such as energy and sustainable development where joint research efforts could bring common solutions and mutual benefits. It opens a new chapter of scientific cooperation between the EC and Jordan, an important partner in the EU´s neighbourhood policy.

• European Community signs a Science & Technology Cooperation Agreement with Japan
  Today, the European Community (EC) and Japan marked a firm commitment to strengthen their collaboration in research by signing a Science and Technology (S&T) Cooperation Agreement. This agreement will help them identify common research priorities and areas of common interest, such as energy and environment, in which joint research efforts could be particularly promising. It will also provide a framework to establish mechanisms for enhanced S&T cooperation, such as reciprocal participation in research programmes, exchange of researchers, and coordinated calls for proposals.

Friday, 27 November 2009

• Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI): the Commission and the pharmaceutical industry launch second call for research proposal towards more efficient drug development methods
  Today, the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) officially launched its 2 nd Call for proposals. The public-private partnership between the European Commission (EC) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) is inviting research consortia to submit proposals for 9 scientific topics. The aim of the Call is to speed up the discovery and development of new medicines for diseases such as cancer and inflammatory and infectious diseases. IMI will also fund projects to improve data exchange between industry and the scientific community, an important aspect of knowledge management. The Commission's contribution to this 2 nd Call of €76.8 million is expected to be at least matched by in-kind contributions from the member companies of EFPIA.

• Harnessing the sun: Europe and Brazil strengthen ties in fusion research
  The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the Brazilian Government have today signed a cooperation agreement in fusion energy research. Fusion aims to recreate the same reaction which fires the sun. Euratom sees the agreement as a step forward in the potential involvement of Brazil in the international fusion project ITER, the world's most ambitious fusion experimental reactor, which is currently under construction in Cadarache (France).

Thursday, 26 November 2009

• Nuclear Waste disposal: talk to the locals!
  Finding sites for the disposal of high level radioactive waste, mostly from nuclear power plants, is a pressing and controversial issue in Europe and beyond. The European Union funded project Argona shows that new methods of participation can make a difference in communicating with the people directly concerned by the disposal of nuclear waste. The scientists presented their findings today at a conference in Prague called “Deliberation - Way to the Deep Geological Repository”, under the auspices of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

• Still too Few Women in Science in Europe
  Women represent only 30% of European researchers and only 18% of full professors, according to the latest edition of the "She Figures", a survey on Statistics and Indicators on Gender Equality in Science published today by the European Commission . Even if the number of female researchers is growing faster than that of men (+6.3% annually compared to +3.7% from 2002 to 2006) - and despite an increase in the proportion of female PhDs of +6.8% over the same period, the under-representation of women in scientific disciplines and careers remains a serious challenge in Europe. The publication of the "She Figures 2009" coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Helsinki Group on Women in Science, through which the EU Member States and the European Commission worked together to address gender inequalities in science.

Thursday, 19 November 2009

• Commission acknowledges ITER Council's outcome and the steps taken towards a realistic scenario
  On 18 th and 19 th of November, the representatives of European Commission attended the fifth ITER Council in Cadarache (France) together with representatives from the six other ITER members: China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States. Progress towards developing a realistic scenario for construction of ITER has been achieved; however, the EU agrees with its international partners that the discussions on the schedule for construction, and in particular on the terms of mitigation of the risks, are still needed. An Updated Scenario, acceptable to all members, is expected to be established by the end of February 2010.

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

• The European Commission involves top universities, research institutions and non governmental organisations to enhance the impact of science in society
  The European Commission has just selected 15 excellent projects (see annex) in the area of 'Science in Society' which aim at facilitating and improving the relationship between the scientific community, citizens and policy makers. The projects which cover topics such as gender, ethics, classroom innovation and science governance, involve 180 participants from 15 consortia. The project partners come from all twenty-seven Member States, five countries associated to the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union and a significant number of partners coming from outside Europe.

Monday, 16 November 2009

• Corporate R&D investment in 2008: a global increase with EU companies leading US and Japan
  Worldwide corporate R&D investment increased by 6.9% in 2008, in spite of the economic crisis, according to the 2009 "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard" published today. With an 8.1% increase, the R&D investment growth of EU companies', defined as companies having headquarters within the EU, is significantly higher than US ones for the second year, at 5.7%, and Japanese ones, at 4.4%. Two EU companies feature in the top ten: Volkswagen in the 3 rd place with an R&D investment of €5.93 billion and Nokia in the 8 th. The world's biggest investor in R&D was Toyota Motor, with €7.61 billion. The report also shows that companies from emerging countries have the highest R&D investment growth.

Thursday, 12 November 2009

• Technology Platform for Implementing Geological Disposal launched
  Today the Technology Platform for Implementing Geological Disposal (IGD-TP) of nuclear waste was launched in Brussels with the support of the European Commission. This marks the successful outcome of a process started with a feasibility study carried out by the Euratom 6th Framework Programme (FP6) project, 'CARD'. Since then, radioactive waste management organisations in Sweden, Finland and France, together with the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, have piloted the setting up of this TP. They have also used input from other key radioactive waste management organisations in Europe and consulted widely among R&D organisations and other stakeholders, including national authorities, academia and international bodies.

• Arctic is warming faster than thought
  Climate change affects the sensitive system of the Arctic much more severely than first thought. During the last 100 years, the Arctic atmosphere has warmed almost twice as fast as the global average. Scientist of the European Union funded research project Damocles concluded in a declaration published in Brussels today that "unless emissions are curbed significantly, we are not expecting a stabilisation of the Arctic's climate system".

Friday, 06 November 2009

• Progress on alternative approaches to animal testing
  The European Partnership on Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) was launched in November 2005 by European Commission Vice President Günter Verheugen and Science & Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik together with the European industry. At a conference in Brussels today both industry and the Commission have expressed their strong wish to strengthen this unprecedented collaboration to reduce animal testing as much as possible to avoid unnecessary suffering for animals (the 3Rs Approach) wherever possible.

• Europe and India sign cooperation agreement – ITER goes on
  The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the Indian Government signed today a cooperation agreement in the field of fusion energy research. Fusion is the technology which aims to reproduce the physical reaction - fusion - that occurs in the sun and stars. The European Union and India are already partners in the construction of the international fusion tokamak ITER. The agreement was signed at the EU-India Summit in New Delhi by the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

Wednesday, 04 November 2009

• New EU-US Energy Council to boost transatlantic energy cooperation
  A new EU-US Energy Council was launched today in Washington. The meeting brought together the Commissioners for Energy, Andris Piebalgs, External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Research, Janez Potočnik, with the US Secretary for Energy Steven Chu and US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg to launch the EU-US Energy Council. The EU-US Energy Council will provide a new framework for deepening the transatlantic dialogue on strategic energy issues such as security of supply or policies to move towards low carbon energy sources while strengthening the ongoing scientific collaboration on energy technologies.

Tuesday, 03 November 2009

• EC-Project Carboocean calls for greater reduction of CO2 emissions - web broadcast released
  Scientists from the European Commission funded climate research project Carboocean believe that the targets for human-produced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions - a maximum 2 degree global temperature rise - are not strict enough. They have found that regional 'carbon sinks' in the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean – areas which absorb more CO2 than they release – are less stable than previously thought and have decreased since the early 2000s.  The film is part of the project and available online on http://www.carboocean.org/front_content.php?idcat=456.

• Scientists stress the dangerous link between air pollution and climate change
  Scientists from the European Network of Excellence on Atmospheric Composition Change (ACCENT) have stressed the dangerous link between air pollution and climate change and the multiplied negative impact they have on the environment and health when combined. With the presentation of their research at a scientific conference today and tomorrow in Brussels, leading scientists from all over the world are contributing to European policy development to help with the fight against this phenomenon.

• Damocles international Symposium : The Arctic Climate system, its present status, future evolution and potential impacts
  The consortium of the Damocles climate research project and the European Commission Directorate General for Research are organizing a scientific-political Symposium in Brussels about climate research in the Arctic. Over 150 experts are expected to attend the event scheduled from 10 to 12 November 2009 in Brussels.

• How is Europe doing in clean technologies? Visit the new Commission's online assessment system
  Today, the Commission launches "SETIS", the online Strategic Energy Technologies (SET-Plan) Information System, which provides the latest research results on the status, forecasts and R&D investment figures for low-carbon technologies. It underpins the effective strategic planning, conception and implementation of EU energy technology policy and serves notably to the implementation of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan). SETIS assesses and monitors those technologies that have a significant potential to help Europe meet its energy and climate change targets, such as wind power, solar power, CCS or bioenergy. The Information System offers interactive tools to compare the maximum potential and energy production costs foreseen for the different technologies over time.

• Investing in the future: Commission calls for additional €50bn in low carbon technologies
  European Commission called public authorities, business, and researchers to join efforts in order to develop by 2020 the necessary technologies to address climate change, secure EU energy supply and ensure the competitiveness of our economies. In a proposal on "Investing in the development of low-carbon energy technologies", the Commission estimates that an additional investment of €50 billion in energy technology research will be needed over the next 10 years. This means almost tripling the annual investment in the European Union, from €3 to €8 billion. This represents a step forward in the implementation of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), the technology pillar of the EU's energy and climate policy. Different sources of funding are considered, from public and private sectors at national and EU level, to be used in a coordinated way will also help to push forward a fast growing industrial sector and to create jobs

• Commission takes steps to ensure European Research Council's long term success
  The European Commission has decided today on a course of action to secure a sustainable future for the European Research Council (ERC) as a world-class funding organisation supporting leading-edge frontier research. In response to an independent review of the ERC operations and in the light of its own experience, the Commission will streamline the ERC's organisation and governance, and enhance the efficiency of its operations. It will recruit a distinguished scientist with robust administrative experience to lead the ERC Executive Agency. The Commission also announces it will engage into a broader debate with the European Parliament and the Council on adapting the regulatory framework for Research and Technological development to the specific requirements of scientific activities. The Commission is committed to build a financial and administrative framework that will best serve the policies aimed at boosting new sources of sustainable growth.

• Climate change: Commission welcomes IPCC decision to grant EC full participation
  The European Commission today welcomed the decision by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC) to let the European Community participate fully in IPCC meetings, a prerogative normally reserved for governments. The IPCC is a United Nations organisation which acts as an objective source of information on climate change. The decision, taken at the IPCC meeting this week, recognises the special status of the European Community and gives Commission representatives the right to speak and to introduce proposals like any IPCC Member, but not to vote. This is in line with what the Commission requested.

• A "BONUS" for the Baltic - €100 million for new Joint Baltic Sea Research Programme
  Today, the European Commission has adopted a proposal on a Joint Baltic Sea Research Programme ('BONUS-169'). The objective is to enhance the Baltic Sea region research capacity to ensure a more sustainable development of the region. The Commission proposes to contribute € 50 million to a joint research investment with eight EU Baltic Sea Member States (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden). The € 100 million programme will provide a framework for the coordination of their environmental research.

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

• New film: Learn about nuclear fission in ten minutes
  EU nuclear research promotes the peaceful use of the nuclear fission and aims to reassure those who are worried about nuclear energy. The objective is to make EU nuclear energy sustainable and extremely safe, in order to attract greater involvement from industry and gain the trust of its citizens. Through the Euratom Seventh Research Framework Programme (Euratom FP7 2007-2011) the European Commission is financing this kind of research.

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

• Media Invitation : Air Pollution - Climate Interactions - Contribution to European Policy Development (ACCENT Symposium)
  The European Network of Excellence on Atmospheric Composition Change (ACCENT) is organising a symposium to provide the scientific basis to the policy making process in the fields of air quality and climate change. Its aim is to contribute to the dialogue between science and policy. The event will be attended by more than 200 leading scientists in the field from Europe and outside Europe and will count on the participation of high level representatives from the European Commission, EU Member States and International organisations. Particular attention will be given to the interactions (synergies and trade-offs) between the two policy areas.

Monday, 19 October 2009

• Conference on the Strategic Energy Technology (SET)-Plan - Engaging Europe to invest more in new energy technologies
  The Swedish Presidency of the European Union will on 21 and 22 October host a Strategic Energy Technology (SET)-Plan Conference in Stockholm. More than 300 technologists, business leaders and investors working on low-carbon technologies in Europe will discuss the opportunities to invest more in new energy technologies. The proposal of the European Commission for additional investment of €50bn in the next ten years in low carbon technologies will be the focus.

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

• The European Commission mobilises 260 universities and research centres under new research projects addressing major societal challenges
  The European Commission has allocated €70 million to 31 research projects in the field of socio-economic sciences and humanities. These projects will involve 260 different research institutions from Europe and beyond. The results from these projects will help us understand how major societal issues evolve. The subjects include: the impact of the service economy on growth and welfare; the social, cultural and political factors behind social inequality; and the impact of hydro-climatic hazards on social tensions and conflicts in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Sahel regions. The results from projects selected will feed into future policy-making.

Wednesday, 07 October 2009

• Marie Curie Actions run… for life !
  La Commission Européenne se mobilise pour participer à la Cinquième édition du "Breast Cancer Walk/Run 2009". Un objectif : parcourir, au trot ou au pas, les 5 ou 10 km de la course dans la forêt de Soignes pour lutter contre le cancer du sein.

Tuesday, 06 October 2009

• European Research: experts call for a new renaissance
  Today, the European Commission welcomed the first European Research Area Board (ERAB) annual report "Preparing Europe for a New Renaissance - A Strategic View of the European Research Area". This report outlines how the European Research Area needs to develop by 2030 – for the sake of the EU, and of the world at large. Set up by the Commission to advise on the realisation of a European Research Area (ERA), this high-level advisory group, chaired by Prof. John Wood, is composed of 22 recognized members from the fields of science, academia and business.