Good morning,
I was happy to kick-off the first meeting of our new expert group on artificial intelligence and data in education and training on 8 July. Artificial intelligence and learning analytics are revolutionising the way students learn. At the same time, many educators, parents, and students are understandably worried about who collects, controls, and interprets the data generated about them. This expert group will therefore prepare practical ethical guidelines, to be presented in September 2022, and help educators and learners to engage positively, critically, and ethically with these technologies.
I am also happy to announce that the European Commission adopted its proposal for a Council Recommendation on “A Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe” in July. This pact 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.
We stepped up our research efforts against the coronavirus pandemic in July, as the Commission short-listed 11 new projects worth €120 million from Horizon Europe for supporting and enabling urgent research into the coronavirus and its variants. The 11 short-listed projects involve 312 research teams from 40 countries, including 38 participants from 23 countries outside of the EU. By supporting these new research projects and reinforcing and opening relevant research infrastructures, we continue to fight this pandemic as well as prepare for future threats.
I was glad to participate at the Informal European Competition Council on 19 July. We emphasised that the European Research Area and international cooperation in research and innovation are key components for the future of our R&I community. The Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe addresses the internal knowledge market, strengthening scientific excellence, increased citizen participation & increased investments in R&I. Let's create a stronger ERA! The other important topic was the Global Approach to Research and Innovation. Thanks to international cooperation, R&I based on common values, strengthened multilateral alliances & emphasizing political priorities, Europe can become a frontrunner in the R&I race.
On 14 July, the Commission adopted the 2022 work programme for the European Research Council. This work programme is backed by the biggest ever annual budget for ERC grants – a powerful sign of Europe’s continuing support for frontier research. I am also delighted to see that most of the financial support is earmarked for grants for early and mid-career researchers. It is vital that we support this new generation of European talent.
The new Euratom Research and Training Programme for 2021-2022, also adopted in July, will prepare us for the future. I am pleased that the new work programme seeks to increase the coordination with Member States through Partnerships and move beyond traditional energy issues of great importance, such as nuclear safety, to also tackle societal concerns like health and education.
I am delighted at how engaged Europeans have been in co-designing the New European Bauhaus initiative, as the first phase draws to a close and we start preparing the ground to move from design to implementation. What started as a call to rethink the way we live together has become a fast-growing, diverse community. In July I spoke at two major events: one with urban innovators in Munich and one in Sofia exploring opportunities for actions at national level. I also took part in a panel during Frankfurt fashion week, and had a conversation with art and design students as part of a series of New European Bauhaus events organised by the European Network for Higher Art Education and the Berlin University of the Arts. In September, we will announce the winners of the first New European Bauhaus Prizes and set out the next steps for the project. In the meantime you can hear from some high-level roundtable members on their visions for the project, and what is coming next, here.
My congratulations go to the 23 consortia selected for the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's (EIT) Higher Education Institutions Initiative: Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education Pilot Call for Proposals. The initative will see up to EUR 27.5 million of funding, helping universities to boost their entrepreneurial capabilities at all levels and unlock their innovation potential.
I was also pleased to launch two new platforms in July, the EU-Africa (EU-AU) cooperation in R&I portal and the EU-Mediterranean cooperation in R&I portal.
Our jointly established EU-Africa priorities are now being translated into actions such as the new online platforms, the new ENRICH in Africa project, ARISE calls launch and the Horizon Europe Africa Initiative. These activities contribute to building knowledge economies for sustainable growth and jobs. The pilot Africa Europe Innovation Partnership has been instrumental in connecting the EU with the Africa Union high-quality incubators, accelerators and technology transfer offices.
I was pleased to participate in the G7 Science Ministerial Roundtable in July. We emphasised that gender equality and gender mainstreaming is one of the priorities of the European Research Area and has been further strengthened under Horizon Europe. We presented targeted actions empowering women’s participation across the programme, including under the European Innovation Council (EIC). Increasing women’s participation and fostering gender equality in education, research and innovation is a priority for the European Commission, and a personal commitment for me. By working together we can achieve a fair system and reach Europe's full potential in R&I.
On 5 July, I was delighted to participate in the opening ceremony of this year’s Erasmus Congress and Exhibition, ERACON 2021. Erasmus has defined a generation in a way that no other programme or policy ever could. It was my pleasure to take the opportunity to thank all those Erasmus coordinators who are instrumental in turning our programme into reality, across Europe and beyond. Together, we will ensure that the new Erasmus+ becomes even more inclusive, creates connections between institutions, and empowers grass-root change!
On 13 July, we launched the first call for proposals of Women TechEU. This is a new EU scheme supporting deep-tech start-ups led by women and helping them grow into tomorrow’s deep tech champions. We want to increase the number of women-led start-ups and create a fairer and more successful European deep-tech ecosystem. Today’s support to deep-tech female founders will increase their chances of success and boost the overall European innovation ecosystem, by drawing in more female talent.
On 15 July, during a dedicated event, the European Women in Venture Capital Group handed me over a new report on Women-led Venture Capital in Europe, on how to ensure equal access to capital for European female-led Venture Capital funds. Only 1.7% of all capital went to female founders in Europe from 2016 to 2020 and the report puts forward concrete recommendations for the European Commission and the European Investment Bank on how to forcefully turn this trend around. I was delighted to be part of this event, emphasising that we have to act on levels. Starting with education and encouraging young women to take STEM degrees, creating a pipeline of female tech talents and supporting women to become board members, investors and set up their own funds.
Last week, I spoke at the first ever G20 Culture Ministerial meeting in Rome, where I emphasised the cultural and creative sectors' key role in the growth of our economies and societies. This is why the EU is not only supporting the recovery of these sectors through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, but also promoting their long-term growth and role as an engine for sustainable social and economic development.
I would like to thank our wonderful Blue Book trainees, whose time at the Commission has come to an end last week. It has not been an easy time, moving to a new city and working from the confinement of their home. And yet, they persevered and contributed greatly to the European recovery. I am grateful for their enthusiasm and commitment and wish them all the best in their future! Applications for the March 2022 session just opened and will remain open until the end of August.
I am sure like many of you, I enjoyed watching the UEFA EURO 2020 Football Championship and was happy to see fans start to come back to stadiums to support their national teams. I congratulate the Italian national football team for their impressive victory. I am also really enjoying the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Sport, like many other sectors, has been hit really hard by the pandemic. But it has proven its resilience and it has a powerful ability to unite, especially in these challenging times.
Finally, I hope that you will all have the opportunity for some holiday time over the summer. For those of you travelling in Europe, check out the Re-Open EU web platform, developed by our scientists at the Joint Research Centre. It has lots of useful information on the travel requirements and public health and safety measures at your destination, so you can all plan holidays confidently and enjoy them safely.
My team will be taking a short break in August, so our next update will come at the end of September.
In the meantime I wish you all a happy summer,
Mariya Gabriel
