Research policies and environment protection

Recommendation 2215 (2021)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 29 September 2021 (28th sitting) (see Doc. 15357, report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, rapporteur: Mr Olivier Becht). Text adopted by the Assembly on 29 September 2021 (28th sitting).

1. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls its Resolution 2402 (2021) “Research policies and environment protection” and stresses the major geostrategic importance of research and innovation in the areas of the green economy, and in particular the areas of energy transition and the circular economy.

2. The economic and strategic stakes behind technological progress may create a barrier to international co-operation in these domains. However, the fight against climate change is an absolutely essential issue that concerns all Council of Europe member States, which must contribute to finding the right solutions and be able to share them.

3. The 27 member States of the European Union are moving in this direction, as the programme Horizon Europe and the previous Horizon 2020 clearly show, but Europe is larger and we should be able to work together on a wider European scale (for example, through transnational research programmes). The Council of Europe has a key role to play in this respect, and it should open up a new avenue of co-operation to strengthen the ties that unite us and the solidarity between our peoples.

4. Therefore, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers consider setting up a framework – an enlarged partial agreement, for example – that would allow our countries to move forward together by pooling ideas and research resources for targeted projects; the Council of Europe Development Bank could be involved to provide its expertise and help establish funding mechanisms for these joint research projects. Within this framework, Council of Europe member States could be encouraged to establish a bank of strategic resources necessary for energy transition, to create reserves and manage them in a mutually beneficial way, with a view to strengthening the strategic independence of all our countries.