Following the visits of Sigi Gruber (European Commission/Head of the Marine Resources Unit in DG Research and Innovation) and Pascal Lamy (Chairman of the Health of the Oceans Mission Board), respectively in December 2019 and February 2020, our community has mobilised to contribute to the construction of the next framework programme for research and development, Horizon Europe, on the maritime dimension.
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To ensure the construction of the new European framework programme Horizon Europe (2021-2027), the European Commission has set up 5 Mission boards:
For each of the Mission Boards, several experts have been selected (list of experts for the "Health of the Oceans" Mission Board) to advise the European Commission by defining the contours and major challenges directly affecting European citizens. Each Mission Board is chaired by a chairperson. For the "Health of the Oceans" Mission Board, this is Pascal Lamy, former European Commissioner for Trade and Director General of the World Trade Organization.
In this context, and following the visits of Sigi Gruber during our 2nd Assembly, and Pascal Lamy more recently, we wanted to coordinate a collective response on behalf of the community.
We can be pleased to see, within a dedicated Mission Board, the issues related to the oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters, on which our community can contribute its expertise.
Our contribution has been structured around the themes pre-identified by the "Health of the Oceans" Mission Board, namely:
It is probably not intended to be exhaustive in terms of the spectrum of expertise in our community, given the volume of solutions to be found to many of the challenges we face today.
Moreover, it goes without saying that the "Health of the Oceans" Mission Board cannot be dissociated from the other Mission Boards, and here we are thinking in particular of the "Climate Change Adaptation" Mission Board, with the oceans absorbing a large amount of carbon dioxide and a very large amount of excess heat: and "Cancer", with the oceans teeming with molecules that could tackle the greatest health challenges of our time.
We invite you to find this contribution, which was sent to the Health of the Oceans Mission Board in mid-May, in the appendix.
Finally, please note that an information session on the future European Horizon Europe programme, with a focus on marine resources, will be organised by the end of the year within the framework of the Noé network. We will relay this information as soon as a date and a programme have been defined.
Contribution by the Campus community to the mission board for "Healthy oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters"pdf - 1.96 Mo