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E.C. Bilateral S&T agreements

International Cooperation Partner Countries (ICPC)

International Cooperation Partner Countries (ICPC)

Policy framework


Policy Dialogue

The European Union and the Russian Federation have a strong history of cooperation in science and technology, based on common interests and mutual benefit.

In 2003, the EU and Russia agreed to reinforce their cooperation in research and development by working towards the creation of a "Common Space in Research and Education, including Cultural Matters" (the so called "4th EU-Russia Common Space") in the framework of the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, and on the basis of common values and shared interests.

Cooperation in research and innovation is also one of the priority areas foreseen in the EU-Russia Partnership for Modernization agreed on at the EU-Russia Summit of June 2010 as a shared agenda to help tackle global economic and societal challenges.

Institutionally, EU-Russia S&T cooperation is coordinated by the Joint S&T Cooperation Committee and several EU-Russia thematic working groups, established under the Agreement on Cooperation in Science and Technology. The joint working groups, which meet regularly to discuss potential research topics of mutual interest and prepare joint actions, cover the following priority areas of research: aeronautics; energy (nuclear and non-nuclear); environment; food, agriculture and biotechnologies; health; ICT; infrastructures; nanotechnologies and new materials; e-infrastructures; researchers' mobility; Space. All actions agreed by the working groups are set out in a roadmap for action.

The 2011-2013 EU-Russia S&T Cooperation Roadmap provides information on the achievements of ongoing EU-Russian cooperation through both the EU and Russian funding programmes, describes actions which are currently being planned, and sets out potential new actions for strengthening cooperation and building a strategic partnership between the EU and Russia in research and innovation.

One of the most established forms of EU-Russia S&T cooperation is the participation of Russian scientists in the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, where Russia continues to be the most successful international cooperation partner country in terms of the total number of participations in the programme, the total amount of EU financial contribution received and the number of collaborative actions launched. EU researchers, for their part, successfully participate in Russia's Federal Targeted Programmes (FTPs), such as the FTP "R&D in Priority Fields of the S&T Complex of Russia (2007-2013)".

In 2007 a new cooperation mechanism of 'coordinated calls' for co-funded research projects between the EU and Russia was introduced. To date, ten coordinated calls have been completed in such areas as health; food, agriculture and biotechnology; ICT; energy; aeronautics; nanotechnologies; nuclear energy.

EU-Russia S&T cooperation also takes place through other international fora and large-scale research infrastructures, for example the EU X-ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) and the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR); the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER); the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). Russia and the EU also collaborate within the framework of the Group of Senior Officials (GSO) on global research infrastructures, composed of representatives of the G8+O5 countries.

The strength of the EU-Russia relationship in S&T is demonstrated by the popularity of EU researchers' mobility programmes, such as the Marie Curie Actions (under the EU Framework Programme), TEMPUS (promotion of higher education development in Russia), and Erasmus Mundus (establishment of partnership networks between European and non-European universities elaborating joint Master programmes). These initiatives serve as an important tool of Russia's integration into the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area.

EU-Russia Year of Science 2014

At the EU-Russia Summit in Brussels in December 2012 the political leaders of the EU and Russia agreed to make 2014 the "EU-Russia Year of Science". This year-long series of events, to be jointly organised across the EU and Russia, will celebrate the vibrant and multifaceted cooperation between the EU, the EU Member States and the Russian Federation in the areas of research, higher education and innovation. Involving scientists, research organisations, universities, innovators and the wider public, the EU-Russia Year of Science will build on Russia's strong involvement in the current EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development and on the dynamic cooperation in research between EU Member States and Russia.

Projects

Several important international cooperation projects funded under FP7 help to reinforce S&T relations with Russia:

  • Enhancing the bilateral S&T Partnership with the Russian Federation (BILAT-RUS-Advanced) project aims to facilitate the science- technology and innovation cooperation between Russia and the EU. The web portal offers information about the Russian S&T landscape and funding opportunities from the EU and Russia for the implementation of joint scientific activities. The project has published a number of interesting reports such as case studies of good cooperation practice in S&T; good practice instruments and barriers for successful S&T cooperation; EU-Russian scientific mobility.

  • Strengthening EU-Russia Science and Technology cooperation and EU access to Russian National Funding Programmes (ACCESSRU) project aims to help EU researchers and research organisations to access the scientific and innovation programmes established within the Russian Federation by providing an overview of the Russian research and innovation system, mapping access opportunities for EU researchers to Russian research programmes, identifying opportunities for R&D actors and proposing mechanism for facilitate the access by the EU researchers to Russian R&D programmes.

  • Linking Russia to the ERA: Coordination of MS/AS ST programmes towards and with Russia (ERA.Net RUS) project aims to strengthen S&T cooperation between the Russia and the EU by the coordination of EU Member States' research programmes towards and with Russia. The studies carried out within this project identified common grounds across bilateral S&T programmes of MS/AC with Russia by analyzing Russian S&T system from perspective of international cooperation, developing an appropriate instrumental setting for joint funding activities.

  • The EURUCAS project, a so-called INCO-LAB, supports the internationalisation of the joint Norwegian-Russian Nansen International Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre in St. Petersburg with additional partners from Germany, Sweden, France, Austria, Finland and the UK.

  • The INCO-NET EECA project has intensified the S&T policy dialogue with the broader region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). It also includes a variety of activities, such as the support to FP7 Contact Points, information and brokerage events aiming at an enhanced participation of researchers from EECA countries in FP7.

Background documents

Contacts

DG Research and Innovation
Patrick VITTET-PHILIPPE
Policy Officer - R&I Relations with Russia

Unit RTD D 1 - Policy Coordination, EFTA and Enlargement countries, Russia, Asia and Pacific
Tel. +32 2 29 69056
Email: Patrick.Vittet-Philippe@ec.europa.eu


Delegation of the European Union to Russia
Richard BURGER
Research & Innovation Counsellor

Delegation of the European Union to the Russian Federation
Kadashevskaya nab. 14/1
119017 Moscow, Russia
Tel. (+7 495) 721-2000, 721-2038
Email: Richard.Burger@eeas.europa.eu