PURPOSE: to renew the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Government of the United States of America.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: a first bilateral Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Government of the United States of America was signed in Washington, DC, on 5 December 1997 and entered into force on 14 October 1998. Since then, the Agreement was extended four times, i.e. in 2003, in 2008, in 2013 and in 2018 for an additional period of 5 years each time. The current Agreement is due to expire on 14 October 2023.

CONTENT: the purpose of the draft Council Decision is to approve, on behalf of the Union, the renewal of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Government of the United States of America for an additional period of five years.

The assessment carried out by the Commission demonstrates that the Agreement provides an important framework for facilitating cooperation between the Union and the United States of America in common priority areas for science and technology, leading to mutual benefits. It is therefore in the Union’s interest to extend the Agreement for an additional period of five years.

The exchange of letters between the Parties, dated 7 November 2022 and 13 December 2022, confirmed their interest in extending the Agreement for an additional period of five years.

08892/2023

PURPOSE: to renew the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Government of the United States of America.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: a first bilateral Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Government of the United States of America was signed in Washington, DC, on 5 December 1997 and entered into force on 14 October 1998. Since then, the Agreement was extended four times, i.e. in 2003, in 2008, in 2013 and in 2018 for an additional period of 5 years each time. The current Agreement is due to expire on 14 October 2023.

The assessment carried out by the Commission services demonstrates that the Agreement provides an important framework for facilitating cooperation between the EU and the US in common Science and Technology priority areas of mutual benefit. It is therefore in the interest of the Union to renew the Agreement for a further five years.

The EU's relationship with the US in Science & Technology is stronger than with any other country outside Europe. Among non-Associated third countries, the US was by far the most active country participating in Horizon 2020.

Under the current Agreement cooperation has been thriving both at a bilateral and multilateral level.

Multilaterally, a particularly valuable example of a Global Alliance, promoted by the EU and the US, is the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. A further example is Mission Innovation (MI), which is a global initiative of 22 countries and the European Union, with the aim to accelerate effort in innovation in clean energy. The EU is working closely with the US in a variety of other multilateral initiatives including in the field of health, bioeconomy and earth observation.

Bilateral cooperation is very dynamic in the fields of health, transport, advanced materials, research infrastructures, information and communication technologies, food security and sustainable agriculture, climate and the environment, areas where the US participation in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe has been particularly important.

CONTENT: the Commission proposes that the Council approve, on behalf of the Union, the renewal of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the Government of the United States of America for an additional period of five years (i.e. from 14 October 2023 to 13 October 2028). The content of the renewed agreement will be identical to that of the current agreement.

This initiative will allow both Parties to improve and further intensify their cooperation in scientific and technological areas of common interest.

It should allow both sides to enhance both bilaterally and multilaterally and develop a more strategic partnership by increasing the scale and scope of existing cooperation, by addressing global challenges and by promoting reciprocal access to programmes and funding.

EU-US research and innovation cooperation under the Agreement contributes to overarching EU policy objectives related notably to:

- the Green Transition , for example with initiatives stemming from Mission Innovation, the All Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance, Arctic research, the International Bioeconomy Forum (IBF), and the Group on Earth Observation (GEO);

- Global Health through multilateral and bilateral cooperation on infectious diseases, cancer, mental heath, and many others;

- Digital transition, innovation, and data sharing through for example work on smart Specialisation methodology, Open Access and Open Science, and bilateral ICT cooperation.

COM(2023)0176
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