Research & Technology in the EU

Latest news about research and innovation policy in the European Union.

EU prepares for increased threat of Covid variants

The EU Commission put forward plans Wednesday for a new European bio-defence preparedness plan to pull together available resources to ready the EU against the increased threat of coronavirus variants.

HERA Incubator - Anticipating COVID-19 variants

The European Commission proposed on 17 February the "HERA Incubator", the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) Incubator to prepare Europe for the increased threat of coronavirus variants.

17th International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - WEBIST 2021

The 17th International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies WEBIST takes place on October 26 - 28, 2021 in Valletta, Malta.

Research to Business Online-Workshop: Residual Stress Analysis

Research to Business Online-Workshop: Residual Stress Analysis takes place on 8 March 2021.

Lift-off for Europe's biggest ever R&D programme

The EU's Portuguese presidency launched the ambitious research and innovation programme 'Horizon Europe' Tuesday with a budget of EUR 95 billion to spur Europe's economic recovery from 2021-2027.

Innovation divide holds back EU research potential

The capacity of European firms to take up and develop state-of-the-art technology varies considerably among Member States and prevents the EU from fully exploiting its potential, EU auditors said Tuesday.

EIB announces EUR 300m investment in space

The European Investment Fund and the EU Commission announced investment of some EUR 300 million into the European space sector Wednesday, supporting ground-breaking innovation in the industry.

Europe adopts digital way forward

The EU institutions struck a provisional deal Monday on a new programme to promote large-scale deployment of state-of-the art technology such as artificial intelligence and the latest cybersecurity tools.

Brussels signals overhaul of EU intellectual property system

The EU Commission published an action pan on Intellectual Property Wednesday, to help smaller firms in particular make the most of their inventions and creations and ensure Europe benefits fully from them.

Leuven is Europe's Capital of Innovation 2020

The city of Leuven in Belgium is the European Capital of Innovation 2020, in recognition of its excellent innovation concepts as well as its processes and governance models that enable ideas come to life.

'New genetic engineering' techniques associated with numerous risks

A new scientific paper published in the Environmental Sciences Europe journal gives an overview of the risks associated with genome editing procedures (new genetic engineering) for plants and animals. The risks are not only restricted to a wide range of unintended effects that can be triggered by the process of genome editing. There are also risks associated with the intended biological characteristics generated through genome editing.

EUR 128m EU funding for coronavirus research projects

The EU Commission announced EUR 128 million of EU funding Tuesday for 23 new research projects involving 347 research teams from 40 countries in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

EUR 1bn fund for innovative clean technology projects: 1st call

The European Commission launched Friday the first call for proposals under the EU Innovation Fund, one of the world's largest programmes for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies.

Pandemic recovery the focus for EU's innovation performance

Europe's innovation performance continues to improve, surpassing the United States, an EU report said Tuesday, with the focus of research activities being on overcoming the coronavirus pandemic.

EU grants EUR 314m to innovative companies to combat virus, support recovery

The EU Commission announced the award Monday of nearly EUR 166 million to companies set to combat the coronavirus pandemic, and another EUR 148 million to fund Europe's economic recovery plan.

Coronavirus: EU issues new call for EUR 122m research funding

The European Commission put out a call for expressions of interest for new funding of EUR 122 million Tuesday for urgently needed research into the coronavirus. The deadline for submission is 11 June.

European Patent Office gives green light to prohibit patents on plants and animals

Patents on plants and animals derived from conventional breeding can be fully prohibited in Europe. This is the result of a verdict published today by the Enlarged Board of Appeal, the highest legal body of the European Patent Office (EPO).

EU adds EUR 72m to fund 8 major coronavirus research projects

The EU is to increase to EUR 72m its funding for 8 large-scale European research projects aimed at developing treatments and diagnostics for the coronavirus, the Commission announced Tuesday.

European data sharing platform opens for COVID-19 researchers

The Commission together with several partners on Tuesday launched a European COVID-19 Data Platform to enable the rapid collection and sharing of available research data.

COVID-19 Data Portal

The COVID-19 Data Portal was launched in April 2020 to bring together relevant datasets for sharing and analysis in an effort to accelerate coronavirus research. It enables researchers to upload, access and analyse COVID-19 related reference data and specialist datasets as part of the wider European COVID-19 Data Platform.

EC scientists develop new control material to help prevent coronavirus test failures

Scientists at the EC's Joint European Research Centre have designed new control material that laboratories can use to check the correct functioning of their coronavirus tests and to avoid false negatives.

EU moves to protect critical European assets

The European Commission issued guidelines Thursday to ensure a strong EU-wide approach to foreign investment screening in a time of public health crisis and related economic vulnerability.

Enhanced European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot

The Enhanced EIC pilot supports top-class innovators, entrepreneurs, small companies and scientists with bright ideas and the ambition to scale up internationally. It brings together the parts of Horizon 2020 that provide funding, advice and networking opportunities for those at cutting edge of innovation.

Start-ups, SMEs take up EUR 344m EU research funding

The European Commission announced Thursday that 107 innovative projects from across Europe are to be supported with EUR 344 million through the EU's European Innovation Council pilot.

Use of EU's space assets under auditor scrutiny

The EU Court of Auditors said Thursday it is examining how effectively the European Commission promotes the uptake of services provided by two of the EU's key space programmes, Copernicus and Galileo.