Croatia focuses on brain circulation and advancing rural areas. Meanwhile, the EC’s proposal for a European Green Deal finds support in the European Parliament.
Croatia took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU from Finland on 1 January 2020. In its programme, Croatia delineates its objectives for the coming six months. While the new Council Presidency will push for concluding the final details in the upcoming Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe programmes, it will also focus on key topics that aim to make Europe overall a better place in education, research and innovation (ERI): The focus is on improving cohesion and inclusion. The Croatian programme proposes a shift towards “brain circulation”, to counteract brain drain that is affecting various regions of the EU: “The concept of just, balanced and efficient ‘brain circulation’ should be one of the pivotal points in the development of strategic documents and investment programmes research and development.”
Furthermore, Croatia wants to focus on new technologies and how to better connect research and development to industry. This should foster commercialisation of new, especially also green technologies and strengthen the global competitiveness of European industry. An additional emphasis will be on the exchange of best practice. Furthermore, the new Presidency is planning to deepen reflections on the ethical, legal and social aspects of the use of artificial intelligence, a topic that will be addressed at the “2020 Digital Assembly” in Zagreb.
In education and skills, the new Presidency of the Council is planning to foster the creation of opportunities for the youth, especially in rural and remote areas. The Croatian programme states the “differences in the availability of education, employment, transport connectivity, and cultural and leisure facilities widen inequality among young people living in urban, rural or remote areas.” As a first step, it will be required to properly analyse “what is needed for young people in rural and remote areas to ensure that they stay, thus preserving the vitality of these areas.” The Croatian Presidency also plans to strengthen the future-readiness of Europe’s workforce by enabling teachers and trainers to become the trailblazers. There will be a proposal for Council conclusions on European ‘teachers and trainers for the future’ and Croatia will organise a conference dedicated to teachers as promoters of ‘new skills for the jobs of the future’.
Croatia is also planning to devote time and effort to further a greener Europe, which fits well into the plans of the new Commission – and the European Parliament (EP) that just declared a climate and environmental emergency last November (see SwissCore article). Croatia will have to work closely with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on moving another strategic topic ahead: The multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027. The MFF has been blocked already for some time. A Finnish proposal (see SwissCore article) was discussed by the heads of state or government of the EU member states on 12 December and the European Council called on its President to take the negotiations forward. Finally, Brexit will also be an important topic during the Croatian Presidency. On 31 January 2020 at midnight, the United Kingdom will cease to be part of the EU. During the transition phase until the end of 2020, almost nothing will change in the current relationship of the UK to the block as the Brexit withdrawal agreement will apply – provided that the EP and the Council will vote in its favour on 29 and 30 January, respectively. However, the EU and the UK will need to negotiate solutions for their cooperation post-2020.
Already on 12 December, the EC presented one of its signature initiatives, the proposal for a European Green Deal to the European Council in Brussels. The focus of this initiative is to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 – and to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases into at least half by 2030. Current measures and innovations implemented by industry have led to a reduction of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by 23% between 1990 and 2018. The EC in its proposal wants also to make sure that there will be no “carbon leakage” to other parts of the world: “Should differences in levels of ambition worldwide persist, as the EU increases its climate ambition, the Commission will propose a carbon border adjustment mechanism, for selected sectors.” This would happen in accordance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and other international obligations of the EU.
The European Parliament (EP) supports the EC’s European Green Deal in a resolution that was adopted in Strasbourg on 15 January 2020 with 482 votes for, 136 against and 95 abstentions. The EP pushes for an even more ambitious climate law. Carbon dioxide emission should be reduced by 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 – and not just “at least 50% towards 55%”, as proposed by the EC. The EP also supports the proposal of measures to prevent carbon leakage. Furthermore, the EP called on the Commission to present a proposal for a European Climate Law by March 2020.
The EP also stresses the importance of Horizon Europe for achieving a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050, and underscores the importance of an ambitious budget for the framework programme of EUR 120 billion “in order to address the significant innovation challenges for the transition to climate neutrality”. The EP also reiterates the goal to devote at least 35% of the Horizon Europe budget to climate objectives. Moreover, the Parliament calls for a systemic climate mainstreaming and climate proofing for all programmes on the EU’s research and innovation agenda. The EC’s plans to update the ‘New Skills Agenda’ and the ‘Youth Guarantee’ to enhance employability in the green economy also finds the support of the EP.
Horizon Europe plays a critical role in the EC’s climate plans and it is foreseen that it should fund new solutions for the European Green Deal across all instruments. Four out of the five Mission areas (except the Mission on cancer) focus on making Europe greener, including oceans, soil, and cities. A large number of partnerships with industry will have a green focus, especially in the area of batteries, clean hydrogen, low-carbon steel making, circular bio-based sectors and the built environment. The knowledge and innovation communities (KICs) supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) will play an important role in promoting collaboration among higher education institutions, research organisations and companies on achieving the European Green Deal. The European Innovation Council (EIC) will dedicate its instruments to “start-ups and SMEs for them to achieve breakthrough Green Deal innovation that can be scaled up rapidly on global markets”. The ‘Orientations towards the first Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe’ that were published earlier in January, describe how Horizon Europe will support EU policy priorities, including the European Green Deal.
The EC is also planning to activate education and training for the European Green Deal: “Pro-active re-skilling and upskilling are necessary to reap the benefits of the ecological transition.” The proposed European Social Fund+ plans to support the workforce in acquiring the skills they need to transfer from declining sectors to growing sectors and to adapt to new processes. Both, the Skills Agenda and the Youth Guarantee will be updated to enhance employability in the green economy.