European Commission Releases Milestone Report on Science Diplomacy
Today, the European Commission has published the report "A European Framework for Science Diplomacy: Recommendations of the EU Science Diplomacy Working Groups". This report marks a major milestone in the joint effort to develop a European framework for science diplomacy. The report outlines nine key recommendations and over 30 action items, organized into strategic, enabling, and operational instruments.
„Today, science, technology and innovation translate more than ever into power and geopolitical influence, and this is one of the reasons why they matter for diplomacy. […] Developing this framework will enable the EU to defend its strategic interests and reduce its vulnerabilities, while at the same time promoting our values and principles for serving the global public good.”
states Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, in her foreword.
Both research and innovation policies as well as foreign and security policies are at the very core of these challenges, which means that Europe must step up in linking these two policy fields. This is why Europe needs to invest in science diplomacy.
(from left to right: Luk van Langenhove, Signe Ratse, Jan Marco Mueller and Nienke Buisman, Photo credit: European Union, 2025)
This report is the outcome of a Europe-wide co-creation process that engaged 130 experts from the fields of science and diplomacy across five EU Science Diplomacy Working Groups, each one co-chaired by a scientist and a diplomat. Jan Marco Müller, Team Leader Global Approach, Multilateral Dialogue and Science Diplomacy, DG RTD, who initiated and guided this co-creation process says:
„The process leading to the present report has been a living laboratory of European science diplomacy, fostering the mutual understanding of scientists and diplomats across Europe.”
Many members of the EU Sciene Diplomacy Alliance played key roles in this process, contributing as Working Group Co-Chairs, Members, Rapporteurs, and members of the Steering Team. Luk van Langenhove, former Chair of the Alliance, served as the Coordinator of the Working Group Chairs and as a member of the Drafting Team. Other Alliance members in the Drafting Team included Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen from the University of Tromso and Jean-Christophe Mauduit, University College London. Additional members of the Drafting Team were Laurent Bochereau, Effrosyni Chelioti, Ágota Dávid, Dovilė Gailiūtė-Janušonė, Martina Hartl, Angela Liberatore, and Jan Marco Müller.
The report has been published here together with the Executive Summary of the report.
EU SD Working Group Co-Chairs from the Alliance:
- Ana Elorza Moreno, Science Advice and Diplomacy Coordinator, Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) (Science Co-chair of WG 2: until 13/03/2024)
- Jean-Christophe Mauduit, Associate Professor, University College London (Science Co-chair of WG 4)
- Pascal Griset, Professor of Contemporary History, Paris Sorbonne Université, France (Science Co-chair of WG 5)
- Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, Professor of Northern Studies, Arctic University of Norway at Tromsø (Support of WG 5)
EU SD Working Group Members from the Alliance:
- Pierre-Bruno Ruffini, Professor of International Economics, University of Le Havre (WG 1 member)
- Mitchell Young, Assistant Professor, Charles University Prague, Czech Republic (WG 1 member)
- Maria Rentetzi, Professor for Science, Technology and Gender Studies, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany (WG 2 member)
- Tim Flink, Scientific Advisor, Deutscher Bundestag, Germany (WG 3 members)
- Paul Arthur Berkman, Founder and President, Science Diplomacy Center / Senior Fellow, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) (WG 4 member)
- Emanuela Colombo, Full Professor in Engineering for Cooperation and Development / Advanced Thermodynamics and Thermoeconomics, Politecnico di Milano, Italy (WG 4 member)
- Léonard Laborie, Researcher, CNRS, France (WG 4 member)
- Marga Gual Soler, Head of Science Diplomacy Capacity Building, Geneva Science and
Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) (WG 4 member) - Izaskun Lacunza, Science for Policy Director, Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) (WG 4 member)
- Ralf Mitschke, Research Assistant, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology, Chair of Science, Technology and Gender Studies, Germany (WG 4 member)
- Alexis Roig, Chief Executive Officer, SciTech DiploHub, Spain (WG 4 member)
- Sergey Sizov, Science Diplomacy Officer, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria (WG 4 member)