EC-UA bilateral meeting on Ukraine’s integration into the ERA took place
On 31 January, an information dissemination event ‘EC-UA bilateral meeting between Ukraine and the European Commission on Ukraine’s integration into the single research area and compliance of Ukrainian legislation with EU law under negotiated Title 25 “Science and Research”’ was held. The purpose was to discuss the state of European integration in the area of science and innovation. In particular, the progress of the screening procedure for the compliance of Ukrainian national legislation with the EU law was presented.
The event, which was held in the format of a simulated session of negotiations between Ukraine and the European Union, brought together representatives of the European Commission, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the National Research Foundation of Ukraine, the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, specialised industry academies, NGOs, and European experts.
In the second part of the event, the participants were also joined by representatives of the network of National Contact Points of the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation ‘Horizon Europe’ and Programme committees responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Programme. Representatives of the EIT Community RIS Hub in Ukraine and the Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation (IP Office) also joined the event
Olga Polotska, Executive Director of the National Foundation of Ukraine, Hryhoriy Mozolevych, Director General of the Directorate for Science Development of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and Oleksandra Husak, Director General of the Directorate for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, opened the second working part with welcoming speeches. Also, Oleksandra Husak and Serhii Shkabko, Head of the Expert Group on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, opened the information panel. Representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science informed about the peculiarities of the negotiation process on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union in terms of education, science and innovation.
For his part, Jacob Just Madsen, Head of the Danish EU Research Liaison Office (DANRO), Member of the Board of Directors of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and representative of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of Denmark, spoke in detail about the process of creating Horizon Work Programmes and the role of National Delegates in the programme committees in the context of the Danish experience. In addition, Katrien Rommens, NOTOGLOU Policy officer, Unit of Common Strategic Planning & Programming Service (RTD.G.3), DG RTD, EC presented the information on how the Horizon Europe work programmes are designed; the development of Horizon Europe work programmes with a focus on the 2025 programme. Among other things, the EC representative said a few words about the upcoming Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 10.
Holding a meeting of this format with the participation of the parties involved in the process of integrating Ukrainian science and innovation into a single research area is an extremely important event. After all, coordinated actions and close cooperation of all parties are a key driving force not only for the development of national science, but also for Ukraine’s integration into the EU, as Igor Taranov, Head of Horizon Europe Office in Ukraine, noted in his speech.
The event became a platform for domestic and European experts to share their recommendations and experience, answer participants’ questions and establish contacts for further fruitful cooperation.
