European Commission Work Programme 2023

The Work Programme for 2023 was adopted by the European Commission on the 18 of October. The Commission stands by on delivering on their six headline ambitions: A European Green Deal, A Europe fit for the digital age, An economy that works for people, A stronger Europe in the world, Promoting our European way of life, and A new push for European democracy.  

Across all six of the headline ambitions of the Work Programme there are 43 policy initiatives, based on the addresses made by von der Leyen in the State of the Union speech. For example, the Commission wants to update the framework for quality traineeships to address social challenges related to the pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine. To boost the social resilience in Europe the Commission aims at delivering fair access to social protection and remuneration.  

Another proposal is to update the EU learning mobility framework. With only 15% of people undertaking studies and training in another EU country, the Commission wants to enable students to move between education systems more easily. There is also a proposal on recognizing the qualifications of non-EU nationals, in order to attract qualified professionals in sectors where Europe’s workforce is in shortage. With the initiative of a Cybersecurity Skills Academy, the Commission wishes to target a strategically important skill.  

In the continuation of this work, discussions will be held with the European Parliament and the Council. When agreements on joint priorities are met, legislation will follow with the ambition of swift action. 

---------------------------------

European Year of Skills

In this article, that is already published on our website, you can read about the European Commissions adopted proposal for the European Year of Skills.

---------------------------------

Deep Tech Talent Initiative by EIT

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has announced the Deep Tech Talent Initiative on their website. The goal of the initiative is to skill one million people in deep tech over the next three years.  

Europe currently lacks the talent and skilled labour to sufficiently benefit from new technologies. Competence within these technologies is a key enabler for the green and digital transition. Building on the The New European Innovation Agenda, the EIT wants to address the skills gap by developing a strong pool of talents. The programme is open to European talents of all educational levels, professionals, entrepreneurs and education providers.  

Nektarios Tavernarakis, the Chair of the EIT Governing Board, writes “we call on the European innovation community and our partners to join our skills initiative and to help identify, create, scale up, and roll out a full array of deep tech education opportunities for all Europeans”. The Deep Tech Talent Initiative will build on existing EIT activities such as EIT Label degrees, the European Battery Alliance Academy and the EIT Higher Education Initiative. 

---------------------------------

An update on the EIC Accelerator

Since the last newsletter, there have been developments regarding the restructuring of the EIC Accelerator. MEP Christian Ehler, Horizon Europe rapporteur, have said that the European Parliament no longer threatens to freeze the funds for 2023. “The interim solution has flaws that we would like to see addressed. However, the interim solution at least ensures that the money is flowing again”, Ehler said to Science Business.  

Going forward, the European Parliament wants to prioritise negotiations with the Member States for Horizon Europe's 2023 budget. They also want to focus on preventing the Commission from using the research budget to fund the Chips Act and its satellite communication scheme.  

Ehler noted that the Parliament will have to consider the EIC Accelerator budget for 2024, if the European Commission doesn’t use this postponement to work on the long-term solution. Read more about the MEPs budget positions in this article by Science Business. 

---------------------------------

The Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills’ top management visited Brussels

On 24 and 25 October the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills’ top management were in Brussels. The visiting group consisted of the Director-General, Sveinung Skule, his Deputy Director General, Gro Tjore, and the directorate’s heads of division.    

Monday was spent at NorCore’s office, with various meetings with Norwegian and European stakeholders, discussing the most relevant topics related to higher education and skills, both in the EU and in Norway. The group met with the NorCore team, gaining insights on the collaboration between the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and HK-dir in Brussels.   

Tuesday was spent at Norway House where the group met with the Norwegian Ambassador to the EU, representatives from the European Commission, Norwegian National Experts to the Commission, as well as the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU. The Swedish Representation showcased their priorities regarding education and skills, during their upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU. 

On Tuesday afternoon the group traveled on to Paris, to meet with OECD and UNESCO.