EU Ministers responsible for research adopted three sets of conclusions establishing political guidelines on international cooperation in the field of research and innovation, on the promotion of open science policies and on the implementation of European missions.

The conclusions, following on from the Council conclusions of 28 September 2021 on the global approach to research and innovation, set out the values and principles which must guide international cooperation in research and innovation, including scientific freedom, gender equality, research excellence and the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.They also  issued a statement on the consequences of Russian military aggression against Ukraine in the field of research and innovation.

Read more about the adopted conclusions here.

Further to this, and in line with the growing interest in environmental and climate issues, the Council recently  adopted a recommendation for Member States to stimulate and support policies and programmes about   green transition and sustainable development. A crucial step to ensure that learners of all ages acquire  knowledge to live more sustainably, the recommendation provides, among other, suggestions:

• to establish learning for the green transition and sustainable development as one of the priority areas in education and training policies and programmes;
• to provide learning opportunities in formal, non-formal and informal settings; and
• to support and enhance teaching and learning  by providing the correct infrastructure, digital tools and resources, in particular on the new European Competence Framework on Sustainability (GreenComp).

Read the full recommendations here.