Marc Lemaitre, Director-General for Research and Innovation, led a delegation to meet French counterpart Claire Giry, Director General for Research & Innovation, on 6th and 7th July at the Ministry for Higher Education and Research and at the Secretariat General for European Affairs in Paris. The purpose of the meetings was to strengthen the collaboration and align EU and national efforts in R&I policy. Anna Panagopoulou and Julien Guerrier, Directors in Director-General for Research and Innovation, also joined the dialogue together with other relevant colleagues to cover the European Research Area Policy Agenda, national investments and reforms, the New European Innovation Agenda and France’s participation in Horizon Europe. The second day was dedicated to an open discussion with key research stakeholders to gather their feedback on Horizon Europe and the main Research and Innovation priorities for the future.
As mentioned by Marc Lemaître in his introductory speech:
« Notre volonté est simple : avoir l'occasion d'échanges approfondis et de qualité sur tous les sujets qui gravitent autour de notre capacité en tant qu'Union à être à l’avant-garde de la recherche et de l’innovation sur la scène mondiale, indispensable pour bâtir une Union plus durable et résiliente »
“Our goal is simple: to have an opportunity for in-depth and high-quality exchanges on all the issues around our priorities to ensure that the EU is at the forefront of Research and Innovation on the global stage, which is essential to build a more sustainable and resilient Union”
Claire Giry also underlined that :
« Ce dialogue renforcé à la fois sur les priorités nationales et européennes nous permet de réaffirmer l’engagement de la France et des acteurs de l’enseignement supérieur, de la recherche et de l’innovation à concrétiser l’espace européen de la recherche pour faire face aux défis présents et à venir »
“The enhanced dialogue on both national and European priorities allows us to reaffirm the commitment of France and of higher education, research and innovation stakeholders to make the European Research Area a reality to face current and future challenges.”
The Ministry for European and International Affairs, the French Permanent Representation to the EU, the Secretariat General for European Affairs, the Ministry of Economy as well as other sectoral ministries and many universities and research organisations also took part in the discussion to ensure a wide coverage of the Research and Innovation ecosystem.
Each session turned into lively discussion demonstrating the commitment from both sides to continue the direct conversation. More concretely the participants agreed to continue working closely together, through discussions at a more operational level, on shared goals such as:
- making the European Research Area more perceptible to researchers on the ground and fit-for-purpose to tackle the challenges ahead
- Ensuring that the European Innovation Council remains a very attractive instrument for young innovative companies
- Helping Research and Innovation communities and a broad range of actors better exploit the opportunities provided by Horizon Europe, including through a stronger inter-ministerial approach
Background
Enhanced dialogues with EU countries are a new, bottom-up channel of cooperation with the European Commission. The goal of these dialogues is to create a country-tailored approach to foster Research and Innovation in the participating EU country. They are organised on a voluntary basis and built around topics depending on the interests of the country.
France is the 9th Member State to take part in an Enhanced Dialogue.
Disclaimer: The translation of the quote is provided for informational purposes only. The Commission doesn't assume any responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or misinterpretations that may arise from the use of this translation
Details
- Publication date
- 7 July 2023
- Author
- Directorate-General for Research and Innovation