Commission urges Argentine participation

A European Commissioner has encouraged Argentina to participate in the EU’s next research and innovation framework, Horizon 2020.

The Commissioner responsible for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, asked the South American state to take part in Horizon 2020 after holding bilateral talks with the country’s minister for science, technology and innovative production.

In statement after the meeting with the Argentine minister, Dr Lino Barañao, Geoghegan-Quinn said:  “The need for international science and technology co-operation has never been greater. This is an era of overall immense challenges like food security, climate change or global health problems that span continents. Science and technology co-operation between the EU and Argentina have a long and fruitful history.”

The Commissioner added that the country had an “important” role to play in regional research collaboration and that she has asked the minister to “encourage Argentinian researchers and companies” to partake in Horizon 2020.

“We can build on our already strong co-operation in areas: such as agriculture, climate change mitigation, water management and information and communication technologies,” Geoghegan-Quinn added.

Research co-operation between the EU and Buenos Aires began in 1999 following the signing of the ‘EU-Argentina bilateral Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation’. Over 100 Argentinian researchers working in 86 different projects benefitted from FP7 funding between 2007 and 2012.