Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2021

Portugal will preside over the Council of the European Union (EU) in the first half of 2021. This presidency is held in rotation by the member states for six-month periods, leading meetings at all levels within the Council and ensuring the continuity of the EU's work.

As defined by the Lisbon Treaty, the three member states holding the presidency consecutively (past, present and future) must work closely together through so-called "trios" and prepare a common agenda setting out the themes and main issues that the Council will deal with over an 18-month period. The current trio is made up of the German, Portuguese and Slovenian presidencies, starting 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 has drawn up its joint program, which is in addition to the more detailed six-month program prepared by each member state for its presidency.

The national priorities of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union 2021 (PPUE21), 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), PPUE21 intends to act at various levels:

• Strengthening R&I in Europe by coordinating efforts and synergies in the 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 investment in Research (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 needed to create the European Partnerships and launch the planned missions;
• Encourage the continuation of joint initiatives within the framework of the new European Research Area (ERA), particularly on the themes of green hydrogen (from renewable energies), artificial intelligence in the public domain and green supercomputing;
• Contribute to wider and more diverse access to science and research, enabling citizens to acquire skills ("citizen science");
• Launch the debate on the professionalization of research careers, with their inclusion in the European Reference Framework, with a view to interconnection, mobility and the revision of evaluation systems, to improve working and salary conditions and reduce precariousness, promoting a balanced circulation of talent within and outside Europe;
• Emphasize EU-Africa cooperation in R&I, in the fields of Space and Higher Education, with an emphasis on building the capacity of institutions and with a view to avoiding the "brain drain".

FCT will monitor and participate in the work of EUPP21 essentially in two ways: (i) technical monitoring of the Council's work, in particular the Council's 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 within the scope of EUPP21. See the page of events and initiatives held 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 discuss various legislative and non-legislative dossiers:

• Regulation and Specific Program of Horizon Europe (HEU)
• Regulation and Strategic Agenda of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
• Euratom and ITER programs (which are expected to be closed in the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the European Union, with the adoption process still pending)
• ECSC Coal and Steel Research Fund (continuation of discussions)
• European High Performance Computing (EuroHPC)
• Single Legal Basis for institutionalized European Partnerships (Art. 187 TFEU) and the Metrology partnership (Art. 185 TFEU), dependent on the presentation of legislative packages
• Conclusions of the European Research Area (ERA) Council, focusing on research careers
• Debate on Missions, following the European Commission Communication expected to be launched very soon

Science and technology events under the aegis of the EUHP21 will be held in compliance with the restrictions in force and will be monitored by the FCT, in close coordination with the EUHP21 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.

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