# EUR-Lex - 52012DC0497 - EN

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# 52012DC0497

**COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Enhancing and focusing EU international cooperation in research and innovation: A strategic approach /* COM/2012/0497 final */**

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Enhancing and focusing EU international
cooperation in research and innovation: A strategic approach

(Text with EEA relevance)

1.           A changing world

The European Union is a world leader in
research and innovation, responsible for 24% of world expenditure on
research, 32% of high impact publications and 32% of patent applications, while
representing only 7% of the population[1].

Over the past decade, however, the
landscape has evolved rapidly. Global research and innovation were, until
recently, dominated by the European Union, the USA and Japan. As the emerging economies continue to strengthen their research and innovation
systems, a multipolar system is developing in which countries such as Brazil, China, India and South-Korea exert increasing influence. The share of the BRICS in global
expenditure on R&D doubled between 2000 and 2009. The Union also has a clear
interest in its neighbouring countries developing their research and innovation
capacity.

Research and innovation are increasingly
interlinked internationally, aided by rapidly developing information and
communication technologies. The number of internationally co-authored
scientific publications and the mobility of researchers are increasing.
Research organisations are establishing offices abroad and companies are
investing outside their home countries, in particular in the emerging
economies.

Global challenges
are important drivers for research and innovation. Our planet has finite
resources which need to be cared for sustainably; climate change and infectious
diseases do not stop at national borders, food security needs to be ensured
across the globe. The Union needs to strengthen its dialogues with
international partners to build critical mass for tackling these challenges.

As more research and
innovation is performed in third countries[2],
the Union will need to access this knowledge. To remain a major global player,
the Union must promote itself as an attractive location for carrying out
research and innovation and be successful in the global competition for talent,
while at the same time preserving its economic interests, for instance as
regards the protection of intellectual property.

With the entry into
force of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning
of the European Union (TFEU) the institutional setting for the Union's action on the international scene has changed. The Union's High Representative for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Vice-President of the Commission,
ensures the consistency of the Union's external action. The High Representative
is assisted by the European External Action Service (EEAS). Research being a parallel
competence, the Union and Member States shall ensure coordination of their
respective activities, so as to ensure that national policies and Union policy
are mutually consistent.

Based on this
evolving context, the commitments under the Innovation Union,[3] the European Research Area
(ERA) Framework[4]
and the recommendations of the interim evaluation of the Seventh Framework
Programme (FP7),[5]
the Commission proposes a strategic approach to enhance and focus the Union's
international cooperation activities in research and innovation, in particular
with a view to preparing for the implementation of Horizon 2020[6].

2.           Taking stock

Europe has a long
history in promoting research cooperation across borders. Established in 1954,
the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) is a research centre of
excellence and the world's largest particle physics laboratory, attracting top
scientists.

Since 1986, the Treaties explicitly identify
cooperation with third countries as a key activity of the Union's research
policy. International cooperation activities have been developed under the TFEU
and the Euratom Treaty. The Framework Programmes have gradually been opened up
to participation by third countries, with support for international cooperation
fully mainstreamed within FP7 (including Euratom FP7). The European Institute
of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is also open to collaboration with third
countries. As a result, 6% of FP7 participants come from third countries.

Progress has been made in optimising the
scale and scope of international cooperation activities. For example:

–
The European and Developing Countries
Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) is a partnership between 14 Member
States, Switzerland, Norway and sub-Saharan African countries aimed at tackling
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria;

–
Euratom, China, India, Japan, Russia, South-Korea and the USA have joined forces in the ITER project
(supported by the Broader Approach Agreement between Euratom and Japan) to demonstrate that nuclear fusion is a viable energy source of the future;

–
The Marie Curie actions have a strong
international dimension. Participants in these actions come from 80 different
countries;

–
The Commission's Joint Research Centre cooperates
with international partners on a wide range of issues;

–
The world-wide interconnection of research and
education networks provided by the GEANT network is largely funded by the
 Union (partially through its development cooperation instruments);

–
The Union, together with 13 other countries,
supports the Human Frontier Science Programme to finance international
collaboration in basic research.

While this progress is welcome, critical
mass is lacking in many cases and the strategy driving the development of the
actions is not always clear. This was one of the conclusions of the FP7 interim
evaluation, which stated that there needs to be an ‘intensification of
international cooperation‘ activities focused on ‘engaging with partners
outside of Europe on equal terms and in programmes and activities of high
mutual interest‘. The same report recommended the ‘coherent strategic
development‘of the Union's policy for international cooperation in research
and innovation.

3.           Objectives of international cooperation

International cooperation in research and
innovation contributes to the broader policies of the Union, as reflected in
the Europe 2020[7]
strategy, in supporting the following objectives:

(a)
Strengthening the Union’s excellence and
attractiveness in research and innovation as well as its economic and industrial
competitiveness – by creating win-win situations
and cooperating on the basis of mutual benefit; by accessing external sources
of knowledge; by attracting talent and investment to the Union; by facilitating
access to new and emerging markets; and by agreeing on common practices for
conducting research and exploiting the results;

(b)
Tackling global societal challenges – by developing and deploying effective solutions more rapidly and
by optimising the use of research infrastructures; and,

(c)
Supporting the Union’s external policies – by coordinating closely with enlargement, neighbourhood, trade, Common
Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), humanitarian aid and development policies
and making research and innovation an integral part of a comprehensive package
of external action.

‘Science diplomacy’ will use international cooperation in research and innovation as an
instrument of soft power and a mechanism for improving relations with key
countries and regions. Good international relations may, in turn, facilitate
effective cooperation in research and innovation.

This Communication proposes to enhance and
focus the Union's international cooperation activities in research and
innovation by using the dual approach of openness complemented by targeted
international cooperation activities, developed on the basis of common
interest and mutual benefit, optimal scale and scope, partnership, and synergy.

4.           Enhancing and focusing international
cooperation activities

4.1.        Openness in international
cooperation

The Union will continue to engage with
countries and regions across the globe. This will allow the Union's researchers
and innovators to engage on a stakeholder-driven basis with their counterparts
worldwide:

–
Horizon 2020 will be fully open to
participation from all over the world[8];

–
The European Research Council and Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions will operate on a fully researcher-driven basis,
open to researchers from third countries.

–
The Research Infrastructures activity will have
a specific focus on international cooperation. Its e-Infrastructures component
has an inherent international dimension by supporting collaboration through
digital means.

–
However, not all third country participants will
be automatically eligible for funding[9].
The list of countries eligible for automatic funding will be restricted, by
complementing the current selection criterion, based solely on GNI per capita,
with an additional criterion based on total GDP, excluding countries above a defined
threshold. This will address the fact that some countries have established the
critical mass needed to cooperate on a reciprocal basis with the Union. Similarly as for the industrialised countries, funding for participants from these
countries continues to be possible in exceptional cases;

–
The more restrictive approach to automatic
funding will be counterbalanced by increased efforts to facilitate the funding
of participants through their national channels;

–
The Union will continue to encourage reciprocal
access to third countries' programmes. The Horizon 2020 proposals allow
for limiting the geographical scope of calls, for instance when the conditions
for the participation of legal entities from Member States in the third
country's programmes are considered to be prejudicial to the Union's interest or
satisfactory security guarantees can not be provided[10];

–
Support for COST and EUREKA will encourage
European networks of researchers to cooperate with their third country
counterparts.

4.2.        Targeted international
cooperation activities

Maximising the impact of international
research and innovation activities, while avoiding a costly fragmentation of
efforts, requires the Union to complement the openness of Horizon 2020 with
targeted actions in order to ensure optimal scale and scope.

4.2.1.     Identifying areas for
international cooperation

Horizon 2020 focuses the Union’s research
and innovation funding on a limited number of societal challenges and enabling
and industrial technologies.

In preparing work programmes for
implementing Horizon 2020 (the Euratom programme being a part of this),
international cooperation will be a key consideration. Areas for engaging with
third countries will be identified in a systematic and coherent manner on the
basis of an analysis of the Union vis-à-vis the rest of the world in line with
the following set of criteria:

–
research and innovation capacity, including
investment, output (publications, patents, citations, licensing), human
resources and infrastructure;

–
risks of and opportunities for access to
existing, new or emerging markets, and their impact on the Union's competitiveness;

–
contribution to the Union's international
commitments, as reflected in the Millennium Development Goals, the post-2015
development framework, Rio+20, G20 and the international objectives of sectoral
policies; and,

–
the legal and administrative frameworks in
place, among the international partners, and where appropriate the Member
States, to engage in cooperation, also including lessons learnt from previous
cooperation.

While sufficient objective information is
available to support the analysis of the first criterion, the others will
require qualitative assessment and judgment. A systematic gathering of
information will be an essential element of the strategic approach, relying in
particular on the new Research and Innovation Observatory being developed by
the Commission. It will include in-depth stakeholder consultations, including
with industry.

An enhanced innovation dimension will involve
putting in place adequate framework conditions and a level playing field,
including activities ranging from information gathering, policy learning,
exchange of experience, identification of good practice, provision of
information and assistance and networking between research and innovation
actors to supporting the adaptation and uptake of existing technology in new
markets, and – in limited cases –demonstration and pilot projects. There will
be a stronger focus on close-to- market and other innovation related
activities. This will require finding an appropriate balance between
cooperating with third countries to jointly advance scientific knowledge and
tackle global challenges while safeguarding the interests of the Union's companies. In this context, the fair and equitable treatment of IPR will be ensured
to avoid uncontrolled loss of the Union's know-how.

More generally, sound innovation-related
framework conditions are of the utmost importance for the Union to engage
effectively in research and innovation at international level. For example, the
removal of specific trade barriers remains a cornerstone of the Union's relationship with third countries.[11]

4.2.2.     Developing multi-annual
roadmaps for cooperation with key partner countries and regions

Based on the above criteria, the
identification of areas for targeted international cooperation actions will be
the starting point of the strategic approach. A flexible differentiation of
partner countries and regions will allow additional focus – especially when
considering funding options – while taking into account that a given country
can fall into one or more groupings, depending on its research and innovation
strengths. The following country groupings are included in the
Horizon 2020 proposals:

·
The EFTA countries, EU enlargement countries
and countries covered by the European Neighbourhood policy, where the focus will be on fostering integration into – or
alignment with – the European Research Area, including through their possible
association to Horizon 2020. For the Neighbourhood, this will contribute to
developing a 'Common Knowledge and Innovation Space', including improving the
research and innovation competences of these countries. Cooperation will be in
close coordination with the instruments of the enlargement and neighbourhood
policies, as underlined at the recent conference on a renewed
Euro-Mediterranean partnership in research and innovation. For the latter case,
a specific follow-up action is in preparation.

·
Industrialised countries and emerging
economies, where the main objective will be to
increase the Union's competitiveness, to jointly tackle global challenges
through common innovative solutions, and to develop enabling technologies by
accessing new sources of knowledge. This will provide the Union's private
sector with business opportunities and access to new markets. There will also
be a strengthened innovation dimension, as is the case for instance through the
Transatlantic Innovation Action Partnership or the Indo-European Partnership
for Research and Innovation.

·
Developing countries, where the emphasis will be on complementing the Union's external
policies and instruments by building partnerships – in particular bi-regional
partnerships – to contribute to the sustainable development of these regions
and address challenges such as the green economy, climate action, improved
agriculture, food security and health. This includes supporting the Millennium
Development Goals - and their possible successors - strengthening demand-led
research and innovation for development, and delivery of the outcome of the Rio+20 conference, e.g. through the transfer of climate technologies.

Systematic identification of opportunities combined
with differentiation by country groupings will support the development of multi-annual
roadmaps for cooperation with key partner countries and regions.

5.           A set of instruments that is fit for
purpose

5.1.        Policy dialogue

The Union has Scientific and Technical
Cooperation Agreements with 20 countries under the TFEU and with 15 countries
under the Euratom Treaty. Science and technology are also often an important
part of broader policy dialogues, such as in Partnership and Cooperation
Agreements and other international framework agreements.

The S&T agreements will be important
vehicles for defining and implementing the multi-annual roadmaps. Where
appropriate, they will be developed into strategic long-term partnerships, including
agreement on the priorities to be addressed. They should also promote the fair
and equitable treatment of intellectual property and knowledge transfer. A
similar approach will be followed on a regional basis, for instance for the
partnerships with the Mediterranean countries, the Association of South East
Asian Nations, Africa, and the Latin-American & Caribbean countries.

5.2.        Information gathering

Objective information is needed to
implement the strategic approach. Increased attention must, therefore, be paid
to collecting qualitative and quantitative information, such as[12]:

–
international cooperation activities funded
through the Union, and their impact;

–
international cooperation policies and
programmes of the Member States and Associated Countries, as well as the
strengths and weaknesses of their research and innovation systems, whereby
Member States and Associated Countries will be encouraged to share with each
other, through the Strategic Forum for International S&T Cooperation
(SFIC), information obtained through national mapping exercises;

–
research and innovation policies and programmes,
including their international component, of third countries, as well as the
strengths and weaknesses of their systems;

–
foresight activities, to identify emerging
challenges, future markets and trends.

Information gathering will make use of the Union's Delegations and science counsellors and the EEAS, as well as the new Research and
Innovation Observatory.

5.3.        Funding instruments

Horizon 2020 will be the main
instrument for implementing the Union's international research and innovation cooperation
actions, complemented where appropriate with national funding.

Targeted activities using the following
instruments will implement the multi-annual roadmaps:

–
research and innovation projects where the
participation of third country entities is required and/or taken into account
during evaluation;

–
softer forms of cooperation such as networking between
projects, clusters and/or programme managers;

–
joint initiatives involving the Union and international partners:

·
coordinated calls: launched and evaluated in
parallel in the Union and the third country;

·
joint calls: launched, evaluated, selected and
funded jointly by the Union and the third country;

·
contributions from the Union to funding
programmes of third countries or international organisations to cover the
participation of the Union's entities in those programmes; and,

·
specific initiatives requiring joint funding
from the Union, Member States, Associated Countries, and/or third countries to ensure
optimal scale and scope, implemented through ERA-NETs, Article 185 or other instruments.

The Horizon 2020 proposals include
provisions[13]
to develop and present cross-cutting activities, such as international
cooperation, in a coherent manner. The Commission intends to reflect these
provisions in the work programme and comitology structure of Horizon 2020.

5.4.        Coordinating with other
policies and international fora

5.4.1.     Policies and instruments of
the Union

International cooperation activities in
research and innovation will be developed in close coordination with the Union's external policies and instruments[14].
This will also include mainstreaming research and innovation across other
policies with a strong international dimension, such as trade, CFSP, environment
and energy, and exploiting synergies with international cooperation in higher
education proposed under Erasmus for All[15].
The development of the multi-annual roadmaps for international cooperation in
research and innovation should, therefore, be closely coordinated with the
general external country strategies and the external dimension of the Union's internal policies.

The Union's external policies will aid in
building-up research capacity in the enlargement, neighbourhood and developing
countries. Research and innovation funding will focus on excellence, thereby
contributing to finding innovative solutions for the challenges these countries
face. In doing so it will contribute to the objectives of the Union's
development policies, for instance through: forward-looking activities and
socio-economic research to identify specific challenges; cutting-edge research
and innovation to develop locally applicable solutions; or providing support for
adapting and transferring existing technologies. This will be complemented by
funding provided by the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development.

5.4.2.     International organisations
and multilateral fora

International organisations and
multilateral fora play a key role in addressing global challenges. The Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Committee on Science and
Technology Policy and Global Science Forum focuses on improving the governance
of global research and innovation activities. The United Nations and other
organisations such as UNESCO, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Platform
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem services, Food and Agricultural Organisation and
World Health Organisation, play a key role in shaping global research agendas.

The International Energy Agency and Nuclear
Energy Agency (under the OECD framework), the International Atomic Energy Agency
and the Generation IV International Forum and ITER International Organisation promote
international cooperation in nuclear energy. Global and regional institutions
such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Global Forum
for Agricultural Research and Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa are active in the field of agriculture. The Carnegie Group, set-up under the
auspices of the G8/G20, provides a unique forum for high-level discussions on
research and innovation issues.

The Commission intends to step-up its
engagement with these organisations, both to enable the Union to exert greater
influence on their activities, in particular where the Union is a major donor, and
to give them a stronger voice in shaping the Union's agenda. In this context,
the Union should attempt to ensure that its participation is commensurate with the
responsibilities assigned to it by Treaties. Further developing the partnership
with European intergovernmental initiatives, such as EUREKA and COST, and
organisations, such as EIROForum[16],
will contribute to a better coordination and more effective use of European
resources.

6.           Promoting common principles for the
conduct of international cooperation

Guided by its principles for external
action (Art 21 TEU), the Union is well placed to play a leading role in
promoting common principles for the conduct of international research and
innovation activities in order to create a level playing field in which researchers
and innovators from across the globe feel confident to engage with each other. These
principles will deal with issues such as responsible research and innovation,
research integrity; peer review of proposals; promotion of the role of women in
science and the gender dimension in research, research and innovation; research
careers (building on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of
Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers)[17];
fair and equitable treatment of IPR; and open access to publicly funded
research publications.

A step has been taken with the
establishment of the Global Research Council, a voluntary forum set up to share
best practice and establish common principles in international cooperation.
Other initiatives are on-going at Union and global level. The Carnegie Group
has worked on establishing common principles for the construction of
large-scale research infrastructures. As regards open access, the Commission
adopted a Communication[18]
in 2007 and, more recently, a follow-up Communication and Recommendation[19].

These issues have also been widely debated
at international level, in both bilateral and multilateral fora. The move
towards open access is a worldwide endeavour, demonstrated by UNESCO's
contribution to its promotion[20]
and the OECD declaration on access to research data from
public funding[21]. Similarly, the Singapore Statement on research integrity represents
the first international effort to encourage the development of global policies,
guidelines and codes of conduct to foster greater integrity in research[22].

7.           Strengthening the partnership with the Member States and major stakeholders

The Union's international cooperation
activities and those of the Member States need to be consistent and complement
each other. Deepening and strengthening the partnership between the Commission
and the Member States will therefore be an important element of the strategic
approach.

It will also be important to develop a
stronger and more systematic interaction with the main research and innovation
stakeholders. This will include better alignment with the international
cooperation priorities of actors such as industry, universities and research
organisations, but also the priorities of the Joint Programming initiatives,
European Technology Platforms and European Innovation Partnerships.

SFIC has made progress in the alignment of
international cooperation priorities of Member States and especially national
and regional funding organisations, by developing a pilot initiative with India and exploring cooperation priorities with the USA and China.

These efforts need to be stepped up as
Member States' international cooperation activities continue to be driven
largely by national considerations rather than by developing priorities and
strategies shared by the Union and its Member States. Accordingly:

–
The Member States will be involved in the
identification of areas for international cooperation and the development of
the multi-annual roadmaps;

–
The implementation of these roadmaps will
involve preparing joint Union-Member States strategic research and innovation
agendas, and involving Member States closely in their implementation;

–
The Innovation Union commitment to develop
common guidelines for engaging in agreements with third countries, on issues
such as scientific visas, IPR, ethical principles in research, the import and
export of scientific samples and equipment, reciprocity and taxation will be
followed-up. This will include building upon the ERA guidelines on IP
management in international collaboration agreements as adopted by the ERA Knowledge
Transfer Group.

8.           Implementation, governance, monitoring
and evaluation

8.1.        Implementation and
governance

Implementation of the strategy will be
closely aligned with the programming process of Horizon 2020, including by
presenting the multi-annual roadmaps in a coherent manner in the work
programmes.

While the development and implementation of
the multi-annual roadmaps for each of the societal challenges and enabling and
industrial technologies will continue to fall under the remit of the respective
committee configurations, the Horizon 2020 horizontal programme committee
configuration will be tasked with steering, monitoring and evaluating the
overall approach to international cooperation. SFIC will continue to
play its role in promoting more coherence between Member States' and Union policies.

Communicating the value of international
cooperation in research and innovation to a broader public will also be an
on-going point of attention. Building on the positive experience with the
EU-ASEAN Year of Science in 2012, the Commission proposes to organise a Year of
Science every two years, alternating between a partner country and region.

8.2.        Monitoring and evaluation

The Commission will report every two years on
the implementation of the strategy. This report will present how the
multi-annual roadmaps have been developed and implemented. It will assess
progress and impact based on the list of indicators provided in the
accompanying Staff Working Document. The first report will be presented at the
beginning of 2014.

9.           Conclusion

The new strategic approach to international
cooperation in research and innovation will be characterised by:

–
Horizon 2020 being fully open to third country
participants, allowing European researchers to cooperate with the best brains
across the world;

–
Targeted international cooperation activities
with the scale and scope necessary to maximise impact;

–
The development of multi-annual roadmaps for
cooperation with key partner countries and regions;

–
Reinforcing the partnership between the
Commission, the Member States and relevant stakeholders;

–
Promoting common principles for the conduct of international
cooperation in research and innovation;

–
Enhancing the role of the Union in international
organisations and multilateral fora;

–
Strengthening implementation, governance,
monitoring and evaluation.

[1]               Further information is provided in the accompanying
Staff Working Document.

[2]               In this Communication ‘third country’ is a country
that is neither a Member State nor a state associated to the research framework
programmes, unless otherwise stated.

[3]               COM(2010) 546

[4]               COM(2012) 392

[5]               http://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/index_en.cfm?pg=fp7

[6]               COM(2011) 809

[7]               COM(2010) 2020

[8]               COM(2011) 810 Art 6(1)

[9]               COM(2011) 810 Art 9

[10]             COM(2011) 810 Art 6(2), 6(3) and 8(5)

[11]             COM(2012) 70

[12]             Further information is provided in the accompanying
Staff Working Document.

[13]             Article 13 of the Horizon 2020 Regulation and Article
5(6) of the Specific Programme.

[14]             COM(2011) 865.

[15]             COM(2011) 788.

[16]             http://www.eiroforum.org

[17]             C(2005) 576 final.

[18]             COM(2007) 56.

[19]             COM(2012) 401 and C(2012) 4890

[20]             http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/open_access_to_scientific_information_policy_guidelines_for_open_access_released/

[21]             http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/9/61/38500813.pdf

[22]             http://www.singaporestatement.org/