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The Multiannual Financial Frameworks (MFF) determine the budget allocation of the EU over a period of seven years. Science Europe recommends strengthening science, research, and innovation by increasing their budget in the MFF for 2021–2027 and to take measures to ensure that the 9th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation will have the capacity to achieve its goals.

This is Science Europe’s response to the report ‘LAB–FAB–APP: Investing in the European Future we want’ by the High Level Group on maximising the impact of EU Research and Innovation Programmes. It outlines points of agreement, as well as additional or alternative recommendations, from Science Europe Member Organisations on how the future of European research should take shape.

Science Europe supports the principle that research data should be “as open as possible and as closed as necessary.” However, the particularity of research data as well as of data about research activities requires careful consideration on which aspects are better dealt with by legislative acts or by guidelines developed by the research sector.

Science Europe supports some of the conclusions adopted today by the EU Competitiveness Council, but is disappointed by the lack of ambition in others. The conclusions reflect the Council position on the preparation of the ninth Framework Programme (FP) for Research and Development.

A more strategic approach is needed to the co-ordination between regional, national, and European research activities and to the initiatives supporting them. This briefing presents policy makers with the Science Europe view on how to better organise regional, national, and European research efforts.

This open letter, signed by the European Research and Innovation community, calls on Members of the European Parliament and the Council to secure Europe’s leadership in the data economy by revising the Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception in the draft of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. It calls for the TDM exception to apply to any person that has legal access to the content to help the European data economy grow, foster innovation, and encourage entrepreneurship.

This open letter issued by the international research community calls on Members of the European Parliament to halt the adoption of harmful provisions found in the current draft of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, which could threaten Open Access and Open Science.

Science Europe shares eight key principles to shape the future Framework Programme. Examples of its European added value include the ERC’s role in fostering Europe-wide competition, the support of Research Infrastructures as a fundamental part of the European research system, and the support of collaborative research to solve societal challenges that cannot be addressed purely with national efforts.

Science Europe is committed to playing a role in accomplishing the transition to Open Access in an efficient and sustainable way and encourages scientific institutions to disclose payments of Open Access publication fees by participating in the ‘Open APC Initiative.’ This paper highlights how this will help create a more transparent cost structure in the Open Access publication market and stimulate competition.

Research Infrastructures (RIs) are of utmost importance for Europe’s global competitiveness and this paper puts forward the case of how the focus on RIs in Horizon 2020 should be enhanced.

This briefing is a contribution to the evaluation and development of Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagships under Horizon 2020. It highlights lessons learned about the added value and limitations of the current FET Flagships and provides recommendations for the development of the FET Flagship instrument.

Horizon 2020 is a unique programme worldwide; it is widely appreciated and has an ambitious agenda. It can meet expectations as long as its nature as a programme capable of supporting excellent research is reinforced. Ahead of the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020, Science Europe shares the extensive experience of its Member Organisations, many of whom have decades of experience in setting up world-leading research programmes or are among the main beneficiaries of the Framework Programmes.

Open Access greatly improves the pace, efficiency, and efficacy of research. This report highlights the efforts made by public research organisations in Europe to develop and implement Open Access policies and addresses the challenges faced by different actors in order to facilitate and accelerate the transition towards full Open Access for all scholarly publications by 2020.

This joint statement on the implementation of the Data Protection Regulation (DPR), facilitated by Science Europe and Wellcome and released by the wider research community, highlights the crucial role Member States must now play in its implementation by reviewing and amending their current laws to enable research to take place.

The recent legislative proposal from the European Commission to reform EU copyright law addresses some needs, but not to the full extent required. Science Europe calls for research and data mining exceptions to ensure that copyright legislation is friendly to research and innovation.

Science Europe expresses strong concern that the research funding budget be maximised in Horizon 2020 so that Europe can fully realise its target of becoming a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. Funding for research and innovation in Europe is a critical strategic investment which is essential for Europe’s long-term growth and prosperity.

Text and data mining (TDM) is hugely important for science as it can facilitate better research and the free flow of knowledge across borders. This report urges policy-makers to update the legal framework in the context of the upcoming EU copyright reform in order to allow TDM for commercial and non-commercial means, and also to clarify the legal position surrounding it.

Protecting the use of animals for scientific purposes is of utmost importance. Over 240 leading biomedical research organisations, learned societies, industry representatives, universities and patient groups in Europe release this joint statement in support of the Directive 2010/63/EU which outlines the protection of the use of animals for scientific purposes.

Decisive action is needed to transition towards more effectively and efficiently towards an Open Access publishing system. This paper presents some of the recent trends and developments in the transition to Open Access, as well as various business models currently in use which aim to facilitate this transition. It also highlights expected benefits and underlines remaining challenges.

The Science Europe Life, Environmental and Geo Sciences Scientific Committee organised a workshop on ‘The Relationship between Food, Health and the Environment’ in Milan on 12 and 13 May 2015. Representatives from the Science Europe Member Organisations and external experts attended, and the multi-faceted and complex relationship between food, health and the environment was explored.
The challenges for each of these fields individually are numerous and varied. A major aim of this workshop was to identify relevant links between them and to recommend common strategies for Europe to address the future challenges of food and food-related health research, from the perspective of the life sciences.

The 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement) of animals in research is a key topic for all researchers. This paper covers topics such as barriers and misconceptions that impede implementation of the 3Rs, tools to support the better design of experiments, and examples of how new technological and scientific approaches may contribute to the 3Rs.

This publication by Science Europe’s Scientific Committee for the Social Sciences addresses two audiences: scientists, especially those who have been traditionally more resistant to the OA approach, and policy makers. In it, the Scientific Committee for Social Sciences proposes a ‘Diamond Engagement’ concept with the three key principles: partnership; standardisation and interoperability; and enabling structures.

Open Access, as defined in the Berlin Declaration, means unrestricted, online access to peer-reviewed, scholarly research papers for reading and productive re-use, not impeded by any financial, organisational, legal or technical barriers. Ideally, the only restriction on use is an obligation to attribute the work to the author. Science Europe Member Organisation are committed to a shared set of principles on Open Access to ensure consistency and coherence in their efforts and activities.

Text and Data Mining (TDM) helps the analysis and extraction of new insights and knowledge from vast amount of digitally-available content. It offers great potential for research, but also for the economy and society as a whole since it enables innovation. This paper gives an overview of some of the legal hurdles faced by researchers using TDM practices, flags possible action lines for research organisations, and calls for a more science-friendly EU copyright law.

This paper highlights the benefits of collaboration between researchers and business persons, policy makers, or activists towards a shared societal goal.