Latest news with #HorizonEurope
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
WDC launch 5-year strategy to support creation of 5,000 jobs
The Western Development Commission has launched a five-year strategy that sets out to support the creation of 5,000 jobs through enterprise and regional development projects. The strategy sets out a roadmap that will see the WDC invest €50 million in the western region including €35m drawn from its own investment fund and €15m sourced from EU funding. A €35m investment from the WDC's fund will see €25m earmarked for SMEs, €7m for social enterprises and €3m for creative industries. The WDC aims to secure a further €15m investment through EU-funded projects, including participation in Interreg, the Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme and Horizon Europe. It is envisaged that the combined impact of the WDCs various programmes and initiatives will contribute to supporting 5,000 new jobs by 2030. Established in 1999, the WDC operates as a State agency under the remit of the Department of Rural and Community Development to promote and support social and economic development in counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway, and Clare. Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht Dara Calleary launched 'Unlocking Potential, Driving Change: A Strategy for Regional Growth and Collaboration 2025–2029' in his hometown of Ballina, Co Mayo this afternoon. Mr Calleary said the five-year WDC strategy aligns with the Government's rural development policy and reinforces their commitment to balanced regional growth and innovation. Some of the WDC's key targets include increasing the number of connected hubs from approximately 380 to 400 hubs while developing the connected hubs network as a platform to deliver AI upskilling and other digital skills. The Western Investment Fund portfolio currently consists of 120 companies and projects valued at €90m. The WDC plans to deliver more than 100 projects across SMEs, social enterprises, and the creative sector through its Investment Fund and support a further 1,000 SMEs through EU-funded programmes. CEO of the WDC Allan Mulrooney said the strategy focuses on investing in high-potential companies, supporting communities, and testing scalable solutions in rural Ireland. "We've co-created a strategy that is both ambitious and grounded in what already works. In the years ahead, talent, not geography, will shape the West's future. But talent needs the right conditions to thrive," Mr Mulrooney said. "From AI to climate action, social enterprise to creative industries - we're building the platforms to turn regional potential into long-term impact," Mr Mulrooey added. The organisation also plans to reach an annual audience of more than one million people to promote the region as a place to live, work and to carry out business.
Agriland
4 days ago
- Health
- Agriland
New EU map of soil health to ‘revolutionise' soil management
A new EU Soil Health Data Cube layered map will revolutionise how farmers, land managers and policy makers sustainably manage soil in Europe. It could potentially allow scientists to peer into the future and model solutions for the worst impacts of climate change. Almost one hundred scientists have contributed to the project, which integrates hundreds of thousands of observations and data points on soil, climate and vegetation using a multidimensional matrix powered by artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. The Soil Health Data Cube currently spans from the year 2000 up to 2022 and is already 30TB in size. This new tool allows scientists and researchers to obtain open data representing European landscape and soil properties in space and time, and can potentially be used to simulate complex scenarios and accurately predict, test and model real world solutions. AI 4 Soil Health scientist and OpenGeoHub Foundation director, Tomislav Hengl said: 'This powerful tool will help policy makers, farmers and land managers better manage our soils for biodiversity, carbon storage and productive farmland. 'Using AI tools and open-source data we have created a prototype digital-earth-twin – a map of European soil health which will enable users to analyse and test soil management practices to deliver better outcomes and environmental benefits and to predict the impact of different climate change scenarios. 'This is probably the most sophisticated soil health modelling framework to date and will be an indispensable tool for those involved in regenerative agriculture, carbon farming, and those looking to change farming land use systems – such as realising soil carbon sequestration potential, shifting to agroforestry and similar. 'We will be able to provide the modelling capability to empower them with real world evidence while significantly reducing the cost, time and labour involved in traditional soil monitoring practices,' he added. Soil Health Data Cube map The Soil Health Data Cube map enables users to monitor key soil health factors, including pH levels, soil carbon, and biological parameters over time with weather and climate data. Its spatial resolution is down to 20m or 30m with the addition of vegetation cover and most recently over 20 million European crop field boundaries. So, farmers will be able to access and view an accurate picture of the farms exploring historical and future patterns of soil health based on different climatic and land use scenarios. This is the first version, but the team will continue to develop the data cube over the next three years by populating it with significant volumes of additional point data together with new remote sensing data which will advance its ability to predict and model future scenarios to new levels of detail and accuracy. This marks a significant milestone for the AI 4 Soil Health project team who are one of a group of Horizon Europe projects which fit under the EU's and the Soil Health Mission for 2030. AI 4 SoilHealth is working with over 20 partner organisations to develop practical experiments on the ground to showcase regenerative practices to ensure good measurement tools are at the heart of soil recovery. AI 4 Soil Health's project manager Mogens Humlekrog Greve from Aarhus University said: 'With the EU's Soil Health Monitoring Law under consideration, this innovation gives us an incredibly useful way of identifying regions where soil health is at risk, highlighting areas that need urgent restoration. 'This holistic approach enables continuous monitoring and detailed insights into soil health across Europe, promoting better soil management practices. 'We are proud that the data is open and available to a diverse range of users so everyone can benefit.' Politicians, scientists and national agencies will be able to make better, faster decisions by accessing data to analyse and predict declining crop production, or the impact of changing land use and scale up support for biodiversity. The AI 4 Soil Health partnership members have stated that they are confident that they will have a soil health app available in 2026 which will make this data available to all and allow farmers to benefit from this complex analysis on their mobile phone.
Al-Ahram Weekly
22-05-2025
- Business
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt, EU launch Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 in Cairo - Economy
The European Union (EU) delegation to Egypt, in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, held the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 launch event in Cairo on Wednesday. The event marked a key milestone in strengthening Egypt-EU cooperation in research and innovation. Over 150 participants attended the launch, including Egyptian academics, researchers, innovators, and officials from the Ministries of Higher Education and Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst, head of the EU delegation to Egypt, and Mohamed Ayman Ashour, minister of higher education and scientific research, inaugurated the event. The day aimed to raise awareness about new opportunities for Egyptian entities under Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship research and innovation programme with a 95.5 billion euro budget for 2021–2027. Discussions focused on enhancing collaboration, funding access, and Egypt's growing role in the European research and innovation ecosystem. The event follows the initialling of the Horizon Europe Association Agreement between Egypt and the EU on 10 April, paving the way for Egypt's formal association. While the agreement is expected to be signed by November 2025, transitional arrangements are already in place. As of 10 April, Egyptian institutions are eligible to participate in Horizon Europe calls under the 2025 budget and enjoy the same rights as entities from associated countries. 'This year marks two decades of EU-Egypt science and technology cooperation,' said Ambassador Eichhorst. 'Egypt's association with Horizon Europe will usher in a new era, offering not just funding, but also a voice in shaping research priorities, leading international consortia, and opening doors for youth, researchers, and entrepreneurs to innovate and collaborate globally,' she added. Minister Ashour echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of international collaboration to advance Egypt's scientific and technological capabilities. He noted that the partnership with Horizon Europe will help integrate Egypt's research landscape with global networks, fostering knowledge exchange and innovation-led growth. Horizon Europe represents the EU's highest level of international scientific collaboration, offering non-EU countries full participation in research activities. Through this association, Egyptian researchers and institutions will gain access to cutting-edge European research infrastructures and cross-border scientific partnerships spanning academia, industry, and civil society. The association is expected to deepen scientific ties between Egypt and the EU, support Egypt's national innovation agenda, and contribute to regional and global research initiatives. On Wednesday, the two sides concluded the negotiations to extend the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA), a strategic programme focused on sustainable water and food systems. Egypt and the EU signed the Joint Declaration on the Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership in Cairo in March. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
See - Sada Elbalad
21-05-2025
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Egypt, EU Launch Horizon Europe 2025 Collaboration in Cairo
Nada Mustafa The launch event for Horizon Europe new Work Programme 2025 in Cairo took place on 21 May 2025. The event was organised by the European Union Delegation to Egypt in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology. The event was opened by Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst, Head of EU Delegation to Egypt, and Minister Mohamed Ayman Ashour Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the presence of more than 150 Egyptian academics, researchers and innovator,; as well as representatives from the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event aimed to raise awareness of Egyptian researchers and innovators about new collaboration and funding opportunities under the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe. The European Union and Egypt have successfully initialled the agreement pertaining to Egypt's association to Horizon Europe on 10 April. The Agreement is expected to be signed by November 2025, pending final validations from both parties. However, transitional arrangements apply from 10 April 2025 opening the door for new and further collaboration opportunities. This currently allows Egyptian entities to apply for and be treated as "eligible entities" established in an associated country in Horizon Europe for calls implementing budget from 2025 and onwards, pending the signing and entry into force of the agreement. EU ambassador to Egypt Angelina Eichhorst said "2025 marks 20 years since the EU-Egypt science and technology cooperation agreement and certainly association to Horizon Europe will mark a new beginning to a long journey of longstanding cooperation. Egypt's association to Horizon Europe will signify more than access to funding. It will mean participation in shaping research agendas, leading consortia, and contributing Egyptian expertise and talent to Europe's research landscape and vice versa. It will also mean creating real opportunities for Egyptian youth, researchers, and entrepreneurs to engage, innovate, and lead projects." Association to Horizon Europe is the closest form of international cooperation in research and innovation the EU has with non-EU countries and would allow Egyptian researchers to access world-class research facilities in Europe Horizon Europe is the largest EU's research and innovation programme ever with a budget of €95.5 billion for the period 2021-27. The programme allows active collaboration between businesses, civil society, research and academic institutions. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies
Euronews
20-05-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Can the EU do enough to attract scientists to work in its countries?
The European Commission this month pledged a new package of €500 million for the period 2025-2027, part of which will be specifically earmarked for research projects with industrial applications. President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc needs to "stand for science" in a speech at the Sorbonne University in Paris, adding that it's 'the fuel for growth and progress' but 'is being questioned in today's world". US government budget cuts are seen as an opportunity to attract such talent to Europe, as Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation, acknowledged. "In Europe, we do things differently. We don't tell researchers how and what to research. We respect their freedom to research and they are welcome in Europe," Zaharieva told Euronews. A new European Research Area Act is intended to entrench freedom of scientific research into law. "In Germany, for example, academic and research freedom are considered fundamental rights and are already enshrined in the German constitution," explains Amandine Hess, who covered the announcement for Euronews. A new seven-year grant will provide researchers with long-term career prospects and researchers who move to Europe will receive a supplement on top of the grant (the amount will be doubled this year). But the bureaucracy that scientists face when applying for grants and the difficulties faced by institutions with limited budgets show that the EU is far from delivering on its promises. "We are really very focused on reducing bureaucracy, reducing reporting demands and focusing on how to make the program more accessible to smaller research organisations, to smaller companies, which will save applicants time and money," said the European Commissioner, referring to Horizon Europe, the EU's main funding programme for research and innovation. Horizon Europe has a budget of €93 billion within the EU's seven-year rolling budget. But member states are responsible for national investment, and there are significant disparities: Belgium spends 3.4% of its GDP, while Romania only 0.4%. In total, the EU spends 2.2% of its GDP on research and the Commission has set a target of 3% by 2030. But even that figure is well below that of other advanced regions, such as the United States at 3.5% and Japan at 3.3%. Scientists fear that the research will not be sufficiently funded within the next rolling budget. 'Public funds will never be enough. So what the Commission is working on is how to get more private sector investment in research innovation,' Zaharieva argued. 'But what we are lagging behind is really in transferring this knowledge to the market, which is what the Competitiveness Fund is all about. The Research Framework is in our treaties, but the connection with competitiveness is really crucial for the implementation,"she claimed. Watch the video here! Journalist: Isabel Marques da Silva Content production: Pilar Montero López Video production: Zacharia Vigneron Graphism: Loredana Dumitru Editorial coordination: Ana Lázaro Bosch and Jeremy Fleming-Jones The European Union intends to forge ahead with a new package of sanctions against Russia to exert greater pressure on Vladimir Putin to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, despite the United States not doing so at this stage. But the sanctions face an uphill struggle to be approved due to Hungary's steadfast opposition and lack of coordination with Washington. The course of action envisioned by Brussels includes tightening the price cap on Russian crude oil, which might be virtually impossible to achieve without the US joining in. "An 18th package is being prepared with further hard-hitting sanctions," Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Tuesday after holding a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "It's time to intensify the pressure on Russia to bring about the ceasefire," she added. High Representative Kaja Kallas admitted the unanimous agreement would be "difficult" to find among member states but said the challenge should not deter the bloc from moving forward. "I do not think we have a choice. We need to put more pressure," said Kallas, arriving at a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels. "We want to see those consequences also from the US side. We really haven't seen the pressure on Russia from these talks." Following a two-hour phone call between Trump and Putin on Monday, the American president announced that Russia and Ukraine would "immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war." The conditions for such a ceasefire, he said, would be "negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be". "Let the process begin!" he said on social media. Putin, for his part, said Russia would work with Ukraine on a "memorandum" about the terms of a "possible ceasefire for a certain period of time". The truce, though, would be contingent upon whether "appropriate agreements are reached", he noted. The Russian leader continues to drag his feet on accepting Trump's proposal for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, which Ukraine and European allies have firmly backed as a necessary prelude to in-depth negotiations. Despite the rebuff, Trump later told reporters he would not impose fresh sanctions against the Kremlin, hoping the latest phone call would lead to tangible progress. "I think there's a chance of getting something done, and if you do that, you could also make it much worse. But there could be a time where that's going to happen," he said. White House officials had previously been threatening to tighten the screws on the Russian economy to force the Kremlin into a temporary truce. "What I can tell you is the sanctions were very ineffective during the Biden administration because they kept them low because they were afraid of pushing up domestic oil prices," Scott Bessent, the US Secretary of the Treasury, said on Sunday. The gap in thinking between the US and the EU was laid bare after the phone call that Trump held with European leaders. "Europe will increase pressure on Moscow through sanctions. This is what we agreed on with POTUS after his conversation with Putin," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Zelenskyy, who was also part of the call, said that "if the Russians are not ready to stop the killings, there must be stronger sanctions". The European Commission is currently designing what is expected to be the 18th package of sanctions on Russia since February 2022, targeting the banking sector, the Nord Stream pipelines and more vessels from the so-called "shadow fleet". Von der Leyen has also suggested lowering the price cap on Russian crude oil, which the G7 established in late 2022 at $60 per barrel. The cap has remained untouched since then, even if Moscow has continued to trade well above the mark. Bringing down the $60 price tag to further squeeze the Kremlin's revenues will necessitate an agreement with the White House and other G7 partners. Trump's decision not to proceed with further sanctions at this stage risks derailing the review, which has been supported by Kyiv, the Nordics and the Baltics. "We'll see whether that can be really (done) in the form of a G7 joint measure or not," said Paula Pinho, the Commission's chief spokesperson. Another point that separates transatlantic allies is their vision for the day after the war. In his read-out, Trump expressed his desire to resume economic relations with Russia, something that could happen once sanctions are lifted. "There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth," he said. By contrast, the EU has consistently said sanctions would be removed only after Russia withdraws its military forces from Ukrainian territory and a lasting peace has been achieved. Moreover, the majority of member states agree that Russia's frozen assets, worth €210 billion, should remain paralysed until Moscow pays for war reparations. Earlier this month, the Commission presented an ambitious roadmap to phase out all imports of Russian energy by the end of 2027 – a huge diminution of trade.
