Deal sees greater co-operation between COST and JRC

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between COST and the Joint Research Centre to kick-start mutually beneficial co-operation, helping to promote and spread research excellence across Europe.

The MoU will co-ordinate common science and technology networking activities in the sectors of environment and climate change, energy, transport, agriculture and food security. Also seeing greater collaboration is health and consumer protection, information society, technological advances, innovation and standardisation.

The signing of the MoU takes place in the context of the 193rd CSO meeting in Brussels, the General Assembly of the COST Association. The agreement was signed by Dr Ángeles Rodríguez-Peña, president of the COST Association, and Professor Vladimir Šucha, director general of the JRC. The deal is seen as potential long term collaboration that commits the two institutions to exchange knowledge and expertise more systematically in order to ensure the efficient use of information and resources.

The mission of COST is to enable breakthrough scientific and technological developments, leading to new concepts and products and thereby to contributing to strengthening Europe’s research and innovation capacities. The MoU will further develop the position of COST in the global context of the European Research Area, offering a platform for dialogue and bringing together scientific knowledge across Europe.