Until Friday, 19 November, the Commission is hosting the 6^th edition of the Raw Materials week, gathering a wide range of EU and national policymakers and industry key players to discuss policies and initiatives in the field. The conference will focus on the latest developments concerning raw materials in the EU, including opportunities under EU Recovery and Green Deal policies, co-creation of the transition pathways, further analysis of strategic dependencies as well as work on partnerships and trade with third countries. 

The highlight of the week is the 8^th annual high-level conference of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on raw materials. This stakeholder platform aims to provide high-level insights to the Commission, EU countries and private players on innovative approaches to address the challenges related to raw materials. Commissioner Thierry Breton will open the conference followed by a welcome address from MEP Hildegard Bentele, and the State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Slovenia, Andrej Čuš.  Later in the morning, the Director General of the Commission's Joint Research Centre, Stephen Quest, will also deliver a keynote speech. The afternoon session will be opened by Vice President Maroš Šefčovič. As part of the Raw Material Week, the Commission is also co-organizing several complementary events. These will focus in more detail on issues related to critical raw materials, trends in innovation and skills for raw materials, EU Horizon technology success stories, EU-Canada Partnership and UNECE Resource management. More information about the event as well as open registration is available on the website of the Raw Material Week.

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The Commission has signed an agreement with Armenia for tighter co-operation in research and innovation. For the period 2021-2027. Armenia has been granted association status to Horizon Europe, Europe's €95.5 billion research and innovation programme. Researchers, innovators and research entities established in the country can now participate, under the same conditions as entities from the EU member states. Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said: “I welcome Armenia to our Horizon Europe programme. Armenia has continuously increased its participation in the previous Horizon 2020 programme and has supported the acceleration of the reforms of the Armenian national research and innovation system in the past few years. Armenia will build on its past successes in Horizon Europe.”

Association to Horizon Europe supports the 'Global Approach to Research and Innovation' and reconfirms Europe's commitment to a level of global openness needed to drive excellence, pool resources for faster scientific progress and develop vibrant innovation ecosystems.Armenia was since 2016 fully associated to Horizon 2020, the previous EU research and innovation programme (2014-2020), and multiple success stories resulted from this co-operation in areas like health, skills and innovation capacity for SMEs, and more. Further information is available here. 

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Iceland and Norway have formally become associated to Horizon Europe, enabling entities in those two countries to participate in Europe's €95.5 billion research and innovation programme, under the same conditions as entities from EU Member States. The Joint Committee of the European Economic Area, composed of representatives of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and the EU, adopted the relevant Decision today for Iceland and Norway, which makes them the first to be associated to Horizon Europe. This is an opportunity to continue and deepen cooperation in science, research and innovation, focusing on common priorities: the twin green and digital transition, public health and Europe's competitiveness in the global landscape. Joint efforts will aim to address environmental problems in the Arctic, develop hydrogen and carbon capture technologies, boost data-driven innovation, and more.

A Europe Fit for the Digital Age Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said: “Openness and co-operation with the rest of the world are key in our strategy to create critical mass for research and innovation and to accelerate and find solutions to pressing global challenges. By joining forces with Iceland and Norway, we will pursue a series of actions in support of the green, digital and public health agendas.” Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “I warmly welcome Iceland and Norway on board to Horizon Europe. They were amongst the best performers under Horizon 2020 showing innovation leadership and excellence across fields such as energy, environment, food safety, health and digital technologies. I look forward to new breakthroughs and success stories in the coming years!”

This co-operation underlines the importance of the EEA Agreement, which enables full participation of the EEA states in the EU's internal market and provides basis for cooperation in other areas including research, technological development, environment and culture. Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation programme 2021-2027, is one of the main tools to implement Europe's strategy for international cooperation: Europe's global approach to co-operation in research and innovation. The programme is open to researchers and innovators from around the world who are encouraged to team up with EU partners in preparing proposals. Negotiations are ongoing with many more non-EU countries that have expressed interest to become associated to Horizon Europe and further announcements will be made in the coming weeks. More information is available here.

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