Members of European Parliament stated at a plenary session earlier this month that correspondence from Monsanto (owner and producer of Roundup, a widely used herbicide based on the active substance glyphosate) which was recently disclosed, has shed doubt on the credibility of a number of Monsanto-sponsored studies. The studies were part of the evidence used by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to evaluate the safety of glyphosate but according to Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU agencies concluded that allegations stemming from “Monsanto papers”, if true, would have no impact on safety assessment conclusions. Some MEPs stressed that the substance’s safety assessment should be strictly science-based and that the process should steer clear of emotions. Others called for the launch of an independent review on glyphosate. Many MEPs agreed that low-risk herbicides should be better promoted.
Source: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/
Horizon 2020 Evaluations
On 29 May 2017, the Commission published the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020, required by Article 32 of the regulation establishing Horizon 2020. The interim evaluation aims to contribute to improving the implementation of Horizon 2020 in its Work Programme 2018-2020, to provide the evidence-base for the report of the H2020 High Level Group on maximizing the impact of EU Research and Innovation programmes and to inform the design of the post H2020 Framework Programme. EuCheMS answer to the public consultation which preceded this report is available here.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/
More than 1 300 Master Students to Benefit from Erasmus Mundus Scholarships in 2017
1 345 students from all over the world have just received the good news that they have been awarded an EU-funded scholarship to begin studying for an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree this autumn. These scholarships will cover all the costs of their study programmes which will take them to two or more higher education institutions in pursuit of a joint or double Master’s degree. Most programmes last two years. The 100 Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree programmes offering EU scholarships in 2017 cover a wide range of subjects, namely chemistry with masters on Advanced Spectroscopy in Chemistry; Chemical Innovation and Regulation; Excellence in Analytical Chemistry; among other.
Source: http://europa.eu/
EUA Public Funding Observatory Monitoring Tool
The European University Association (EUA) has been monitoring the evolution of public funding to higher education institutions and the impact of the economic crisis on higher education systems in Europe since its onset in 2008 and has published several reports. The EUA Public Funding Observatory interactive online tool gives user the opportunity to look at the data and the developments over years in a customised way. The monitoring is conducted in close cooperation with EUA’s collective members, the National Rectors’ Conferences, who report on developments within their national higher education systems on a regular basis.
Source: http://www.eua.be/
Scientific Guidance to Help Prevent and Mitigate Chemical Accidents
A handbook published by the European Commission´s Joint Research Centre (JRC) supports EU Member States and third countries in their decisions to reduce the impacts of major industrial accidents in accordance with EU regulations. It provides common reference scenarios for authorities to assess the risks associated with industrial sites where dangerous substances are present, taking into account their proximity to residential areas, transport infrastructure or other public spaces.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/
Open Access of Scientific Publications and Research Data Under ERC
The European Research Council (ERC) has recently published the Guidelines on the Implementation of Open Access to Scientific Publications and Research Data in projects supported by the ERC under Horizon 2020. Under Horizon 2020, beneficiaries of ERC grants must ensure open access, meaning free of charge with online access for any user, to all peer-reviewed scientific publications relating to its results. Regarding the research data, beneficiaries of ERC grants funded under the Work Programme 2016 may opt – in, on an individual and voluntary basis, to the Horizon 2020 Pilot on Open Research Data in order to facilitate access, re-use and preservation of research data generated during their research work. Details can be found on the link below.
Source: https://erc.europa.eu/
EMA 2016 Annual Report Published
The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) 2016 annual report, published earlier this month, focuses on the Agency’s key achievements in the areas of medicine evaluation, support to research and development of new and innovative treatments and the safety monitoring of medicines in real life. According to the report, the Agency recommended a marketing authorisation for 81 medicines for human use, including 27 new active substances. Also highlighted was EMA’s contribution to addressing public health challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, a key issue on which EuCheMS published some recommendations.
Source: http://www.ema.europa.eu/
Index of Urban Water in Europe
This Urban Water Atlas for Europe is a composite index, developed by KWR Watercycle Research Institute, that displays 25 indicators related to water, waste and climate change in one infographic, summarising at a glance how well a city currently manages its urban water resources. The atlas includes indicators such as water quality, nutrient recovery, or solid waste recovery, fields in which chemistry plays a crucial role in providing quality assurance and recovery/recycling methods. According to Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, “Water scarcity affects more than 10 percent of Europe’s population. To foster innovative water management and its public acceptance, scientific and technological knowledge must be accessible for all.”
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/
Pesticide Residues in Food
According to the 2015 European Union Report on Pesticide Residues in Food published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the food consumed in the European Union continues to be largely free of pesticide residues or to contain residues that fall within legal limits. The report, based on the analysis of 84,341 samples for 774 pesticides, reveals that more than 97% of food samples collected across the EU in 2015 were within legal limits, with just over 53% free of quantifiable residues. These figures are in line with those recorded in 2014.
Source: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/
EFSA Scientific Committee and Panels Renewal 2018
On 1 June 2017 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will open the registrations for the renewal of its ten Scientific Panels and its Scientific Committee. EFSA´s Scientific Committee and Panels are composed of independent scientific experts, many of which are chemists, who carry out scientific assessments and develop related assessment methodologies.
Source: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/
CO2 Emissions in the EU Estimated to Have Slightly Decreased in 2016
Eurostat estimates that in 2016 carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion decreased by 0.4% in the European Union (EU), compared with the previous year. CO2 emissions are a major contributor to global warming and account for around 80% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions. Also on this topic, EuCheMS President Prof. David Cole-Hamilton, has recently published an opinion article in The Scotsman entitled Emissions Cut is Win-Win.
Source: http://europa.eu/; http://www.euchems.eu/
2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage: Funding Secured
In April, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) secured €8 million for cultural projects aiming to protect and promote Europe’s shared cultural heritage, as part of the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage. The main objective of this European Year is to promote the role of European cultural heritage as a pivotal component of cultural diversity, by making cultural heritage accessible to more people, promoting innovative models for managing cultural heritage, developing specialized skills or promoting heritage as a source of inspiration for contemporary creation and innovation and developing its role in social cohesion, sustainable tourism and local employment.
Source: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/
European Open Science Cloud Infrastructure
By the end of 2017, the Commission will propose a legal instrument that provides a procurement framework for an integrated world-class high-performance computing infrastructure. This infrastructure is essential to support the European Open Science Cloud and will allow millions of researchers to share and analyze data in a trusted environment across technologies, disciplines and borders. The Commission has already made open research data the default option for projects funded under Horizon 2020. A roadmap for governance and funding will be presented to Member States in the autumn of 2017, based on the outcomes of the European Open Science Cloud Summit of 12 June. EuCheMS is represented at the Open Science Policy Platform, a group whose function is to advise the Commission on the further development and implementation of the open science policy.
Source: http://europa.eu/
Horizon 2020 Interim Evaluation and Preparation of a Post-H2020 Funding Programme
As part of the Horizon 2020 (H2020) interim evaluation, the European Commission has recently published a report with a detailed analysis of the feedback received during the public consultation on this topic which took place earlier this year. The consultation counted with around 3500 responses, out of which 9% were from academia and another 9% from researchers. Respondents mostly recognize the importance of Horizon 2020 to research and also agreed that there is a need for a bigger budget in the future. EuCheMS answer to this public consultation is available here. Also, the European Parliament´s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), will be voting by the end of May on a report led by Soledad Cabezón Ruiz, Member of European Parliament. The interim evaluation for H2020 should be concluded by the end of 2017.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/; http://www.europarl.europa.eu/
Circular Economy Mission to South Africa
Following previous related missions to Chile and China, the Circular Economy Mission to South Africa (CEMSA) of the European Commission (EC) took place on 2 – 5 May 2017. By invitation of the EC, EuCheMS participated in this mission represented by Santiago Luis, Chair of the EuCheMS Division of Chemistry and the Environment. Led by the EC’s Director-general for Environment, Mr. Daniel Calleja, this mission included around 40 representatives from European institutions, National and International agencies, associations and leading companies in different sectors of relevance for circular economy. The CEMSA visited Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, were the World Economic Forum on Africa 2017 was running in parallel. In the contacts with South African representatives of the Environment, Industry and Research Departments, with business representatives and with social associations, the focus was given to the reuse and valorisation of waste, with emphasis on the need of looking for circular economy solutions specific to the African context and problems as well as involving the creation of jobs and poverty alleviation.
Source: http://www.euchems.eu/
Glyphosate: Harmless Tool or Sneaky Poison?
Earlier this month at the European Parliament, at an event co-organised by MEP Pavel Poc, EuCheMS and the ECTN, chemists and scientists from related fields presented and discussed many of the issues surrounding glyphosate. Speakers explored issues such as existing scientific evidence on possible relation with cancer or antimicrobial resistance; the methodologies used by regulators in reviewing existing studies; lack of harmonised approach in collecting and analysing data on glyphosate, the recent Monsanto Papers, and others. A video with all the interventions as well as materials are available at http://www.euchems.eu/?p=8910.
Source: http://www.euchems.eu/
Additional 65 Early-Career Researchers Awarded ERC Starting Grant
In addition to the 325 early-career scientists awarded Starting Grants in September last year, the European Research Council (ERC) announced earlier this month another 65 winners of the 2016 competition. They will receive funding, worth up to €1.5 million per project, to build their own research teams and pursue their best ideas at the frontiers of knowledge. This year, around €96 million in additional budget was made available to the ERC. Just to name some of these projects where chemistry is central, there is a project on green organic “on-water” catalysis via novel quantum chemical methods and another one on the mapping metabolic regulators at a genome – scale to switch bacteria from growth to overproduction of chemicals.
Source: https://erc.europa.eu/
Pesticide Residues in Food
Food consumed in the European Union continues to be largely free of pesticide residues or to contain residues that fall within legal limits according to the latest monitoring report published by European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The report reveals that more than 97% of food samples collected across the EU in 2015 were within legal limits, with just over 53% free of quantifiable residues. The figures are in line with those recorded in 2014. In its report EFSA also makes a number of recommendations for increasing the efficiency of the EU-coordinated and national control programmes.
Source: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/
EMA – Collaboration with Academia to be Reinforced
As a science-driven organisation, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recently developed a framework to formalise, structure and further develop interactions with the academic community in the context of the European medicines regulatory network. The framework’s overall objectives are: 1) to raise awareness of the mandate and work of the European medicines regulatory network to increase academia’s trust in and engagement with the regulatory system; 2) to foster the translation of academic research into novel methodologies and medicines; 3) to ensure that the best scientific expertise and academic research are available on time to support effective evidence generation, regulatory advice and guidance, as well as decision-making in regulatory processes; 4) to work with academia to develop regulatory science that embraces scientific progress in medicines development without compromising patient safety.
Source: http://www.ema.europa.eu/
Data on 15,000 Chemicals Now Available for Use
The European Chemicals Agency has published information on around 15 000 chemical registered substances on its website. This information covers the intrinsic properties of each substance and their impact on human health and the environment. The data comes directly from companies who make or import the substances and have registered them with ECHA. Researchers, regulatory authorities and businesses can use it, not least to improve the safe use of chemicals, enable innovation and help avoid the unnecessary testing of chemicals on animals.
Source: https://echa.europa.eu/
2016 Report of the Rapid Alert System for Non-Food Dangerous Products
The system covers dangerous non-food products intended for consumers (e.g. a toy, a cosmetic product, clothing, childcare products) and for professionals, which pose a serious risk to their health and safety, such as risks of injuries, chemical risks, etc. The system also includes alerts concerning products that pose other indirect hazards to consumers and the environment caused by the presence of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants that can contaminate soil and water.
Source: http://europa.eu/
Upcoming Legislative Proposals on Water
On the occasion of the World Water Day on the 22 March, European Commissioner Katainen, Commissioner Hogan, and Commissioner Vella released a joint statement on the topic of water. In this statement, the Commissioners affirm that the Commission will propose in 2017 a revision for the Drinking Water Directive as well as a proposal to encourage further uptake of reused urban waste water for agriculture and to recharge groundwater aquifers, “showing that circular economy can be concretely deployed in many economic sectors with win-win solutions”. The issue of water reuse was recently discussed at the EuCheMS workshop From Waste to Health.
Source: http://europa.eu/
New Standards for Treating Waste
After three years of work, the review of the EU environment standards for waste treatment is reaching an end. During the final stakeholder’s meeting, the stakeholders, together with the European Commission, completed the technical work to define the Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions for the waste treatment sector as part of the review of the Waste Treatment Best Available Techniques Reference Document (BREF), dated 2006, under the Industrial Emissions Directive. The BAT conclusions and BAT-associated emission levels, once published in the Official Journal of the EU, will be the reference for the authorities across the EU to set operational permit conditions for the around 4 000 waste treatment facilities affected. The European waste treatment sector is extremely varied and carries out treatments such as shredding of end-of-life vehicles, treatment of lamps containing mercury, composting of biowaste, re-refining of waste oil or regeneration of spent solvents.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/
New Action on Conflict Minerals
On 16 March, Members of the European Parliament voted in favour of making EU companies take responsibility for the origin of the minerals they import. Companies will have to check their supply chain in order to respect human rights and prevent them from contributing to conflicts from 1 January 2021 onwards. EU countries will be responsible for ensuring that companies comply. The regulation will also have an impact beyond the EU, as smelters that want to supply to the European market will have to be certified. EuCheMS has discussed the issue of conflict minerals as well as the issue of substituting the raw materials coming from conflict zones.
Source: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/
Secondary Raw Materials for a Circular Economy
The European Parliament (EP) services have recently published a report for the EP Environmental, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee on secondary raw materials for a circular economy. This report summarises four presentations by experts and discussions which took place at the workshop “Supporting the market for Secondary Raw Materials in a Circular Economy” held on 31 January 2017 in the EP in Brussels. The aim was to provide background information to the ENVI and Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committees’ Members and contribute to their understanding of the role and opportunities for secondary raw materials as part of the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan, including the proposed waste legislation which are currently under discussion.
Source: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/