Sustainability Issue #2 July 2009

This is printed from sustainability.formas.se, last updated 5/11/2009 6:19:45 PM

Navigation

Change language

Search

Main content

PrintPrint Print all articlesPrint

Formas and the EU presidency

By Uno Svedin

During the time that Sweden has the presidency of the EU, the country is responsible for taking initiatives in a number of issues and to act as the host for many conferences. Many of these deal with areas where research, supported by Formas, forms the basis for policy discussions.

Just this year, the situation in the EU is very specific. The period of mandate of the European parliament is coming to an end after the new elections in June. This means that the new Parliament will not have assembled until some time after Sweden's assumption of the presidency. At the same time, the period for the Commission is also coming to an end. This means that, until some time in the autumn, there will not be a set of Commissioners in place who have had time to get accustomed to their new tasks. The new commissioners must first be appointed and in this appointment process the new Parliament has an important role. All this will happen in the autumn. By then Sweden will have had its presidency for quite some time. This can be seen as both a problem and as an opportunity. It is an opportunity because Sweden may have a great chance to discuss long term issues, which might not otherwise have come into focus so easily. This applies especially to research and the field of higher education.

Development of EU research

There is a long list of formal meetings at high level for the autumn of 2009, when Sweden has the presidency. And among the "official" conferences and seminars which concern research and education there are many which have been in the course of planning for a long time. Formas is involved in the preparations for a major conference during the second week of the presidency, 7-8 June in Lund, together with the Research Council VR, FAS and the agency for innovation systems Vinnova. Under the direction of VR, this group of four authorities has been charged by the Ministry of Education with creating a platform, in interaction with the Ministry, for discussions of the long term development of research in Europe against the background of a global perspective. The time frame is the period up to 2025. By that time, much will have taken place. Already at this stage, Europe must begin to make preparations for discussions regarding the best long term policy for research and innovations and the orientation which the collected European activity is to have. This applies most particularly to the European Research Area ERA which is a general framework for inputs at different levels in Europe. And more specifically, what should happen after the present seventh framework programme for research in the EU has come to an end in 2013.

Rapid changes

In areas closely related to research and innovation systems, Europe must be ready to deal with rapid and extensive changes, only the initial stages of which can perhaps be seen, and all this in a global context. The conference in Lund – to which Education Minister Lars Leijonborg has invited several hundred European delegates and guests from other parts of the world – will therefore discuss the theme New Worlds – New Solutions. Research as the basis for European development in a global context. It is a matter of trying to get hold of different aspects of developments in the world and to see what research and innovation can contribute in a situation characterised by various "shocks" and great uncertainties as to the direction development will take. It is reasonable to assume that management of the flexibility of the European system in facing these challenges will be an important part of the declaration which is to be the result of the Lund conference. It may present a idea of the attitude which Europe will adopt concerning research and innovation issues in the future.

Formas has taken part in the preparations for an EU related conference, with the Ministry of Agriculture as principal arranger, at the end of October (28-29/10). This will be held in collaboration with Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences SLU in Uppsala and will discuss issues regarding rural development. Here also there is interaction between structural issues and challenges in different thematic areas of significance for the long term development in Europe.

A number of the European policy meetings in the autumn which have a greater thematic orientation will discuss issues related to research. Among the issues which will be of key importance during the presidency are problems associated with the Baltic Sea and the region around the Baltic. Swedish is thus giving emphasis both to issues that are of general concern to the whole of Europe and to those which are related to our nearby geographical areas in the north of Europe. Issues concerning sustainable cities and biodiversity are also on the agenda. These are areas where Formas supports research and participates in international collaborative ventures.

Author :

Uno Svedin is Head of International Relations, Formas

Responsible for this page: Birgitta Bruzelius

Journal links

Sustainability July 2009

Focus presentation

EU counters environmental threats with knowledge Biodiversity, climate conventions, climate-neutral energy, marine acidification, chemicals in the environment … the list of the areas where acute international solut...

Focus articles

Biodiversity – on several levels Genetic diversity within one species, diversity of species within an ecosystem, and diversity of ecosystems at global level are all essential for human existence. Re... What is the cost of biodiversity? What is the economic value of biodiversity for agriculture and forestry? The brief answer is SEK 2.60 per metre. But in order to delve a little more deeply into this... How did Animals cope before … and now? An international research project, CLIMIGRATE, is now starting, with the aim of investigating how different species responded to historic climate changes over the pa... Biodiversity in historical landscapes The historical landscape is of great significance for the numbers and types of plants we find today in our meadows and pastures. With the help of Sweden's unique map... Invasive species alter the plankton ecosystem Since 2007, extensive investigation of plankton in Gullmarsfjorden has been in progress in several projects financed by Formas and EU. The investigation was started ... Who is afraid of the wolf? Psychological factors are in many cases more important than objective facts for the attitudes and behaviours of people in relation to a sustainable development. An i... Genetic basis for sustainable fishing Pike, salmon and herring have widely different population structures. Different approaches are therefore needed to establish biologically sustainable management of t... Fungi provide nutrition for trees Soil is a globally limited resource which humanity needs for the production of food, fodder, fibres and biofuels. In the soil there are more than a thousand species ... Formas and the EU presidency During the time that Sweden has the presidency of the EU, the country is responsible for taking initiatives in a number of issues and to act as the host for many con... ERA-nets accelerate European research ERA-nets can be seen as the hothouse of European research, with couplings to the EU Commission. Formas is a member of over 10 ERA-nets and has been the member of sev... Conserve the usefulness and intrinsic value of species It is not enough to protect a certain flower, bird or meadow. We need a functioning ecological and social system which will do this. There is therefore a very great ... Exchange of researchers with Eastern Europe Cooperation with researchers in the EU obviously includes cooperation with researchers in the former Eastern Europe, both with EU members and with Russia. Leif Norrg... The feedback from viviparous blenny Lars Förlin and Joakim Larsson have cooperated for over ten years in various projects, with fish and environmental toxins as the common denominator. In one of their ... REACH misses nano! The new chemical legislation of the EU, REACH, is already in need of updating. Its demands for information concerning substance and production volume misses many nan... Is REACH enough? Several investigations show that a large proportion of the ca 70,000 industrial chemicals on the European market lack fundamental data regarding their toxicity. One ... After REACH: What do we do now? Despite the new EU chemical legislation, it may in some cases be difficult to make high quality hazard assessments that are anchored in actual conditions. There are ... Remote controlled camera and genetic technology reveal the fate of the deep Knowledge of our marine environments is decades behind – but research is now beginning in earnest. Just now, there are extensive investments in marine research. New ... Will the Baltic Sea have sustainable management? Eutrophication, decrease in biodiversity, overfishing, toxic chemicals, environmentally hazardous marine transport: Without a doubt, the Baltic Sea is an environment... Models for the health of the Baltic Sea Baltic Nest Institute describes the flux of nutrients in the Baltic Sea drainage basin and builds models for the effects of these in the sea. International marine en... Climate neutral energy One quarter of the energy that is annually used in Sweden comes from bioenergy. Most of this originates from forestry. Crops and processed biofuels from forest raw... New forms of governance in environmental policy Society today has three dominant forms of governance: legislation, market control and network governance. These are particularly noticeable in environmental policy. ... Permafrost - to be or not to be Permafrost is a hot subject. One quarter of the northern hemisphere is permanently frozen. Regions both with and without infrastructure will be affected when the per...

The Interview

Favourable conditions for global collaboration The most complex matter that humanity has discussed. This is how Lars Erik Liljelund, Director General of the Cabinet Office who is responsible for coordination of t... The air, the Baltic Sea and the climate A strengthened European framework directive for air quality, the Baltic Sea as pilot area for the EU marine directive and, what is most urgent, data for the climate...

More articles

The countryside has great potential The countryside and the green sector have special conditions for sustainable economic growth. The countryside is at present dominated by agricultural industries and ... New activities in the forest The importance of family forestry for the countryside and the local economy has decreased. It is managed at a distance and through others. The forest is not the base... The "invisible" population of the countryside Overnight stays in the more than 500,000 second homes in Sweden account for one quarter of all the nights spent away from one's home. Nordic experiences indicate tha... Consultative panels invigorate the countryside No decisions without consultation. Water management in Sweden in 2004 is our model for implementing the European Water Framework Directive. It is based on consultati... There are no philosophers in research for society On a bleak November day Sustainability meets Ola Engelmark, the MD of MISTRA, to have a talk on the mantra "research results belong to society". He has just come bac...

In brief

Environmental classification – on the way to implementation in Sweden How is environmental classification of buildings to be achieved in Sweden? This was the subject of a Formas seminar during the Swedish energy meeting in March. Study of the immune system of horses Formas has given the National Veterinary Institute SVA over 1 million kronor for a period of two years for the study of horses' interferon system. This is an importa... Study of the prehistory of plants In all plants whose genome has been studied in detail, there are genes that have been duplicated in the course of evolution. This is a phenomenon that has promoted t... Diatoms provide information on ecosystems and the climate Diatoms are not only beautiful. The fossil diatoms also provide information on environmental history in the past, for instance that ecosystems in a French lake and i... Sweden rehearses for the presidency of EU In July, the Swedish presidency arranges a major conference in Lund on European research policy issues. Isotopes reveal the feeding habits of toxic algae Algal blooms in the Baltic Sea proliferate because of discharges of nitrogen and phosphorus. But the toxic golden algae not only absorb nitrogen and phosphorus from ... Indicator environments in alpine regions and their sensitivity to climate changes The alpine ecosystem and its biodiversity are facing drastic changes as a consequence of the ongoing climate change. Forecasts from the UN Climate Panel IPCC show th... The use of PICT (induced tolerance) for monitoring the toxic effect of organic compounds on the soil microorganism community In order to determine whether a compound is toxic in nature, it is in most cases not enough to study how individual species react to this compound under controlled c... Incineration for energy recovery Incineration for energy recovery produces large quantities of bottom ash and pulverised fly ash, totalling ca 1,300,000 tonnes annually in Sweden. Memorandum of Understanding In December 2005, Sweden and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in science and technology. Another MoU on sustainable development and e...

Results from research

The city as society's arena How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... The changing landscape How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... The cultural heritage of the forest How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... Fibre plants - strength and safety How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... Nanotechnology needs careful consideration How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... Do not cross ecological tipping points! How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma... Stressed fish are not healthy How did the research turn out? What were the findings? Researchers themselves report briefly on the research they have undertaken with funding support from the Forma...
5
MOST READ
articles from this
and past issues
1.Office environment affects health, wellbeing and work 2.The role of microbes in nature 3.Sweden values happy pigs 4.Nanotech in our homes - great opportunities, unknown risks 5.New research initiative will rescue the ship Vasa

Further links

Footer