Seile emphasises ERA development to ITRE committee
Seile © Ricardo Liberato 21 January, 2015

Seile emphasises ERA development to ITRE Committee

The Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has set out its research priorities at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Addressing MEPs at the first meeting of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee in 2015, Mārīte Seile, the Minister for Education and Science, defined research and innovation as important contributors to European competitiveness and employment. Presenting the council’s work programme, she said Latvia will ensure that the Council focuses on the development of the European Research Area through the ERA Roadmap and improved ERA governance, describing a functioning research area as attracting talent and investments to Europe and will contribute to economic growth.

The Latvian Presidency will also aims to strengthen the link between the Innovation Union and ERA as a way of forging long-term private investment and building sustainable co-operation between the industry and research.

Another key priority will be realising the full benefits of a ‘Digital Europe’. The minister commented: “Data is at the centre of the future knowledge economy and society. We need to bring forward the big and open data through a policy debate and reflect it in the Council conclusions.”

The next six months sees the mid-term review of the Europe 2020 Strategy, which the minister said would be given considerable importance, in addition to focusing Science 2.0, and the search for new opportunities to undertake scientific and technological research. The Latvian Presidency says it is ready to look into the new dynamics of science and research enabled by digital technologies and driven by the globalisation of the scientific community.

The two-day ITRE Committee meeting will conclude tomorrow.