EU science ministers signed off an agreement backing research assessment reform in Europe, alongside conclusions on open science, international cooperation and Horizon Europe missions.

Some British researchers who had secured Horizon Europe funding have already been told that their grants will be cancelled.

Member states are set to adopt a position backing research assessment reform in Europe - but they'll stress that any reforms must take into account the diversity of research systems in the EU, according to a draft document seen by Science|Business. Research ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Friday to sign off Council conclusions for research assessment reform in Europe, alongside conclusions on open science, international cooperation and Horizon Europe missions.

A year since the launch of Horizon Europe, the European Commission says its research partnerships with industry and member states are showing first signs of contributing to EU's green, digital and health policy goals.

The EU today launched a pilot project aiming to help regions coordinate regional, national and EU research and innovation policies, and to bridge the many gaps in Europe's fragmented innovation ecosystems.

The European Innovation Council's (EIC) Accelerator funding for start-ups continues to be held up as the Commission's directorates fight over how to manage the new equity fund. The delays are affecting companies selected to receive 'blended finance' - a mix of grant and equity funding - following the June cut-off date last year, the first under Horizon Europe. But the impact may soon be felt by those next in line, which were selected for funding following the October cut-off.

The European Commission officially launched a €25 million direct aid package of Marie Skłodowska-Curie grants for researchers from Ukraine, as it announced a €562 million increase for the Horizon Europe budget in 2022.

The departure of Jean-Eric Paquet, the head of the European Commission's directorate general for research and innovation, has not been officially confirmed as yet, but the Brussels rumour mill is already churning out potential replacements.

The research community in Europe has rallied behind the Stick to Science campaign, set up in February to push for a rapid resolution to the exclusion of Switzerland and the United Kingdom from EU research and innovation programmes.

When JET, the Joint European Torus, announced a breakthrough in the production of fusion energy in February, the celebrations could be heard across Europe. Although based in the UK, the project belongs to a much wider fusion research community.

The Commission launched 'European Research Area for Ukraine' (ERA4Ukraine), a one-stop-shop for information and support services to Ukraine-based researchers and researchers fleeing Ukraine. 

The European Commission is to review its research agenda to reflect EU-wide policy changes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

A new batch of unapproved drafts of Horizon Europe work programmes obtained by Science|Business reveals details about upcoming funding calls for climate research, improving research excellence in poorer EU countries and strengthening research infrastructures.

EU research ministers signed a declaration laying out common principles and values for international cooperation in research and innovation in Marseille on Monday, but these rules arrive as the rapid pace of geopolitical change threatens to render them useless in selecting scientific collaborators from outside the EU.

Projects in jeopardy as EU revokes millions in grant offers after failure of trade talks

Discussions are underway in Brussels over whether Russia should be cut out of future Horizon Europe projects after president Vladimir Putin recognised two separatist-held parts of Ukraine as sovereign states and requested permission from parliament to send in troops on a mission.

France is now working with the European Commission and science and university associations to push for a new system of evaluating research in Europe, launching the Paris Call on research assessment.

Disagreements persist over the use of lump sum funding in Horizon Europe, as the European Commission gears up for broader implementation over the next couple of years. At a meeting organised by the European Parliament's panel for the future of science and technology (STOA), Horizon Europe rapporteur Christian Ehler MEP debated the pros and cons of lump sum funding, with policymakers in the Commission. Meanwhile, research stakeholders continue to call for caution and a slower rollout of the new system.

A number of national research organisations have been taken aback by the urgency of a request by the European Commission to appoint representatives to negotiate a new research assessment system in Europe.

The EU urgently needs better intelligence about China's science and technology system to avoid being taken advantage of, warns a new report.

What are the main six debates to watch this year in European research policy?

Horizon Europe Missions will reach full steam this year. The €1.9 billion two-year plan for the missions saw the light of day last autumn, with the European Commission launching the first calls in the last weeks of 2021.

The EU's proposed artificial intelligence act fails to fully take into account the recent rise of an ultra-powerful new type of AI, meaning the legislation will rapidly become obsolete as the technology is deployed in novel and unexpected ways. Foundation models trained on gargantuan amounts of data by the world's biggest tech companies, and then adapted to a wide range of tasks, are poised to become the infrastructure on which other applications are built.

First impressions of Horizon Europe are in, as the research world gets to grips with the €95.5B research programme.

Europe needs to build eleven new international research labs at a cost of €4.16 billion, according to the latest roadmap from the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), published on 7 Dec., as the European Commission called for a review of funding sources for the shared facilities.