Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2021

Portugal will chair the Council of the European Union (EU) in the first half of 2021. This presidency is held on a rotating basis by the member states for six-month periods, directing meetings at all levels within the Council and ensuring the continuity of the EU's work.

As set out by the Lisbon Treaty, the three member states holding the presidency consecutively (the past, current and incoming presidencies) are required to work in close cooperation through so-called "trios" and prepare a common agenda setting out the themes and main issues that the Council will address over an 18-month period. The current trio consists of the German, Portuguese and Slovenian presidencies, beginning on July 1, 2020 with the German presidency, followed by the Portuguese presidency on January 1, 2021, and ending on December 31, 2021 with the Slovenian presidency. This group drew up its joint programme, which joins the more detailed six-month programme prepared by each member state for its presidency.

The national priorities of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union 2021 (PPUE21), and which are part of the trio's program, are: a Resilient Europe, a Social Europe, a Green Europe, a Digital Europe, and a Global Europe.

For Research and Innovation (R&I), the PPUE21 intends to act at several levels:

• Strengthen R&I in Europe by coordinating efforts and synergies across European scientific communities in the context of the European Research Area (ERA), essential for a common approach to global challenges (e.g. COVID-19), for strengthening European R&I systems and for promoting more investment in research and development (R&D);
• Revitalize the goal of reaching 3% of GDP by 2030 in Research investment (2/3 private sector, 1/3 public sector);
• Promote the launch of the Horizon Europe Program, scheduled for February 2021 in Lisbon, and finalize the regulations necessary for the creation of European Partnerships and the launch of the planned Missions;
• Encourage the continuation of joint initiatives in the framework of the new European Research Area (ERA), notably on the topics of green hydrogen (from renewable energies), artificial intelligence in the public domain and green supercomputing;
• Contribute to a wider and more diversified access to science and research, allowing citizens to acquire skills ("citizen science");
• Launch the debate concerning the professionalization of research careers, with their inclusion in the European Reference Framework, with a view to interconnection, mobility, and the review of evaluation systems, to improve working and salary conditions and reduce precariousness, promoting a balanced circulation of talent within and outside Europe;
• Highlight EU-Africa cooperation in R&I, in the fields of Space and Higher Education, with emphasis on capacity building of institutions and with a view to avoiding "brain drain".

FCT will monitor and participate in the work of PPUE21 essentially on two fronts: (i) technical monitoring of the work of the Council, namely the Council Research Working Party, in support of the Permanent Representation of Portugal to the European Union (REPER), and (ii) co-organization of events planned to be hosted under PPUE21. See the page of events and initiatives undertaken by PPUE21 in the area of Research and Innovation (R&I) here.

As far as the Council's work is concerned, it is expected to focus on the discussion of various dossiers, both legislative and non-legislative:

• Horizon Europe (HEU) Regulation and Specific Program
• Regulation and Strategic Agenda of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
• Euratom and ITER Program (expected to be closed in the EU Permanent Representatives Committee, remaining their adoption process)
• ECSC Research Fund for Coal and Steel (further discussions)
• European High Performance Computing (EuroHPC)
• Single Legal Basis of the institutionalized European Partnerships (art. 187 TFEU) and the Metrology partnership (art. 185 TFEU), dependent on the submission of legislative packages
• European Research Area (ERA) Council conclusions, focusing on research careers
• Debate on Missions, following the European Commission's Communication expected to be launched very soon

The events in the area of science and technology under the aegis of the PPUE21 will be carried out in compliance with the restrictions in force and will be monitored by FCT, in close articulation with the PPUE21 Mission Structure, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES) and other public and private entities. The list of events will be available soon.

Check the detailed program here. More information about PPUE21 here.