The plans for 2023 cover several topics of relevance for R&I and education. There is also progress on REPowerEU – the Commission endorses a new solar alliance.
After the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, laid out the EC’s priorities for 2023 in September, the Commission published on 18 October its work programme for next year, providing a detailed overview of upcoming initiatives. In the area of education, research and innovation, the work programme includes a strong focus on the European Year of Skills 2023 and hydrogen – including the launch of a new European Hydrogen Bank (see SwissCore article). However, the work programme includes more fundamental topics that can potentially influence all EU policy areas. Given the limitations of the EU’s budget as agreed under the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 (see SwissCore article), the EC intends to use the opportunity of the upcoming mid-term review of the MFF in 2023 to re-assess if the current EU budget continues to provide the means for the EU’s responses to the current challenges it faces in areas such as energy and defence. In this context, the Commission announced to “push to create a new European Sovereignty Fund, to ensure that the future of industry is made in Europe”. Also related to the EU’s financial posture, the EC announced to present a proposal for a second basket of new own resources that would build on the proposal for a single set of tax rules for doing business in Europe (BEFIT), which the EC intends to fine-tune based on feedback to the call for evidence that opened on 13 October. The measures are foreseen to ensure more “diversified and resilient types of revenue and avoid undue cuts to Union programmes or excessive increases in Member State contributions, in view of repaying the grant component of the NextGenerationEU recovery plan”.
Following the experience of the Conference on the Future of Europe that concluded in May 2022 (see SwissCore article), the EC announced that a new generation of citizens’ panels are now becoming part of the Commission’s policymaking in key areas, like food waste, learning mobility and virtual worlds, to deliberate on initiatives in 2023. Taking up a proposal by the Conference on the Future of Europe, the EC plans to bring forward legislation in 2023 for new genomic techniques, which aim to maintain a high level of protection for human and animal health and the environment, and contribute to a more resilient and sustainable food system through innovative plant products. The work programme also mentions plans to propose a patent licensing package. The package would comprise clear rules for the compulsory licensing of patents.
Furthermore, the EC work programme foresees to follow up on the EU Strategic Compass and present the ‘EU space strategy for security and defence’ as well as an updated ‘EU maritime security strategy’. Following up on the plans adopted in May that also include a research and innovation component to strengthen the EU’s defence capacity (see SwissCore article), the Commission will launch a dialogue with the European defence industries in 2023 on how to bring about production increases to fill existing gaps in European armament stocks. The EC will also propose an EU critical raw materials act, which should “ensure an adequate and diversified supply for Europe’s digital economy as well as for the green transition – and prioritise re-use and recycling”.
In the area of education and training, the Commission’s work programme further detailed the initiatives that are foreseen for the European Year of Skills in 2023. The EC stresses the importance of reskilling and upskilling of the EU’s workforce and measures to attract the right skills to the EU to create a workforce with the skills that are in demand and to foster therefore the competitiveness of European companies, in particular SMEs, while contributing to the digital and green transitions. Also in the context of the European Year of Skills, the EC plans to update the quality framework for traineeships to ensure aspects such as fair remuneration and access to social protection.
The Commission plans to build on the 2022 European Year of Youth (see SwissCore article) and to continue a strong focus on youth throughout the upcoming European Year of Skills: “With only 15% of young people having undertaken studies, training or apprenticeships in another EU country, the Commission will propose to update the current EU learning mobility framework to enable learners to move more easily between education systems: a key step towards a European Education Area for 2025.” Also in the context of the European Year of Skills, the EC plans to make progress on the skills and talent package to support mutually-beneficial legal migration, reinforced by a new initiative to facilitate the recognition of qualifications of third country nationals in order to allow attracting the right skills to Europe. The Commission plans a “targeted initiative to promote one of the most strategically important skills, through a Cybersecurity Skills Academy”.
Earlier this month, on 3 October, the Council of the EU agreed its position on the Commission’s REPowerEU plan proposal of May 2022 (see SwissCore article). The REPower EU plan foresees to modify the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) regulation to add a new REPowerEU chapter to Member States’ national recovery and resilience plans, in order to finance investments and reforms which will help achieve independence and security of the EU’s energy supply. In its General Approach, the Council adapts the EC’s proposal mainly when it comes to the proposed funding: Instead of auctioning from the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Market Stability Reserve, the Council favours – over concerns to not disrupting the functioning of the ETS system – a combined funding via the Innovation Fund (75%) and frontloading ETS allowances (25%). Once the European Parliament has agreed on its position in November, EU institutions can start trilogue negotiations on the file.
On 11 October, the Commission endorsed a new Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance, a concrete initiative of the EU Solar Energy Strategy adopted in May 2022 as part of the REPowerEU Plan. It is foreseen that the alliance will bring together industrial actors, research institutes, NGOs and other stakeholders with an interest in the solar photovoltaic sector. The alliance will draft an action plan for the entire solar industrial value chain of the EU that will cover topics like research and innovation, raw materials, access to finance, international partnerships and global supply chain resilience, circularity, and skills. Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the Single Market, said: “With the alliance’s support, the EU could reach 30 Gigawatt of annual solar energy manufacturing capacity by 2025 across the full photovoltaic value chain.” He sees a potential to double the number of today’s already more than 350’000 jobs in the EU solar industry by 2030. The Commission’s endorsement marks an important step towards a call for membership in the alliance to be published in November. The EC will work with EIT InnoEnergy to establish the new Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance, its launch is expected by the end of 2022.
On 6 October 2022, leaders from European Countries, including the EU leadership, EU Member States, and 17 non-EU nations, Switzerland among them, gathered in Prague for a first meeting of the European Political Community. Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the idea of the format was launched on Europe Day last 9 May by French President Macron (see SwissCore article). The European Political Community aims to foster political dialogue and cooperation to address issues of common interest, strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent. On 6 October, leaders discussed peace and security, especially Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the energy crisis. The next three meetings will be hosted by Moldova, Spain, and the United Kingdom.