Category: News

The incoming president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has given into demands that the word ‘research’ should feature in the research commissioner’s job title, making the change at the last possible minute, just before the European Parliament confirmed the new team of commissioners in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Von der Leyen’s last-minute decision […]

On 18 November 2019, the European Forest-based industries presented their vision “Forest-based Industries 2050: a vision for sustainable choices in a climate-friendly future”. The vision is a response to the European Commission’s 2050 climate strategy as well as to the President-elect Ursula von der Leyen’s agenda for Europe.  The vision was presented in the […]

Under the auspices of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, whose motto is Sustainable Europe – Sustainable Future, the FTP conference 2019 will take place at Aalto University, Helsinki, on 27 November.  The European forest-based sector launches its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SIRA) 2030 While European forests continue to grow […]

On 2 October 2019 the kick-off meeting of the newly established COST Cross-Cutting Activity (CCA) on science communication took place in Brussels. This CCA, which will run as a pilot from 2 October 2019 until 1 October 2021, will aim to achieve high-quality, evidence-based and cross-sectoral science communication across Europe. This global objective will be […]

(Curitiba, 4 October 2019)  At the 25th IUFRO World Congress there was common understanding regarding the critical role that forests, trees and forest products play for the future of the planet. Participating scientists have repeatedly expressed their strong commitment to step up efforts and collaboration in support of the UN’s 2030 Global Development Agenda, its […]

Scientists are demanding the new job title of commissioner designate Mariya Gabriel be changed to “Education, Research, Innovation and Youth,” with a petition signed by more than 8,000 scientists, university heads and academics across Europe, protesting the decision of European Commission’s president-elect Ursula von der Leyen to subsume education and research under a new portfolio […]

In a renewed call for a bigger budget, 93 research associations argue that two thirds of Horizon Europe money should be ring fenced for global challenges and boosting industrial competitiveness.  In an unprecedented show of strength, European research and innovation associations are jointly calling for the EU to raise the budget for Horizon Europe […]

The incoming president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, nominated Bulgaria’s Mariya Gabriel to take charge of research, innovation and education, but has scotched research from the name of the brief for the first time, relabelling it the ‘Innovation and Youth’ portfolio. While it won’t be in the job title, Gabriel will take over […]

Pressure is building to find greener alternatives to plastic food packaging. While millions of tonnes of almost indestructible plastic enter the world’s oceans each year, malleable packing films are burned or sent to landfill after use, causing further pollution. In an ideal world, the oil-based polymers used to pack food and drink would be swapped […]

EU innovation performance has been improving for four years in a row! The European Commission’s 2019 European Innovation Scoreboard and Regional Innovation Scoreboard  published today show that the EU’s innovation performance has been improving for four years in a row. For the first time ever, Europe’s innovation outperforms that of the United States. However, the […]