EU Missions for major challenges

The ongoing climate and health crises are forcing us to join efforts in new and innovating ways

Corina Cristea, 15.10.2021, 14:00

The ongoing
climate and health crises facing all of us are forcing us to join efforts in
new and innovating ways. We need a courageous and ambitious policy, setting
clear goals to help us shape the future that we desire. This is the view of the
European Union, which is seeking answers to some of the most important current
challenges. These include fighting cancer, adjusting to climate change, protecting
oceans and waters, greener cities, a healthy soil and healthy food. New EU
missions have been initiated for all of these areas. Why is joint action
necessary? MEP Victor Negrescu attempts an answer:

Victor Negrescu: I believe the pandemic has once again proved how important it is for us
to work together. Global challenges require joint responses. We had to come up
with a joint response in the healthcare field, we had to come up with a joint response
in terms of economic recovery. And there is no doubt that in order to cope with
the new challenges related to the environmental and digital transition, we
still need a EU-wide, joint response. I think this pandemic has brought us all
together, helped us to better understand the importance of the European project
and is, somehow, a common starting point that we share regardless of our
political views. So I hope we will take advantage of this context, which
unfortunately is not in the least favourable, and understand the importance of
resetting the EU agenda and of a substantial development of what the EU will
mean in the future.

What
are these missions? A co-ordinated effort, says the European Commission, to
bring together the necessary resources in terms of financing programmes,
policies and regulations, as well as other activities designed to contribute to
fulfilling the goals. With research and innovation as their starting points, the
EU Missions set ambitious, concrete and measurable objectives, to be
accomplished in clearly defined timelines, in order to obtain tangible results
for all Europeans.

One goal
of these missions is to mobilise and actively involve stakeholders in the
public and private sector, member states, regional and local authorities,
research institutes, entrepreneurs and investors, as well as citizens, in order
to encourage the adoption of new solutions and approaches at society level. Not
least, the Missions are a novelty of the largest publicly funded research and
innovation programme, Horizon Europe, to be held until 2027. MEP Cristian
Bușoi explains:

Cristian Bușoi: Obviously, this Horizon Europe programme was
bound to take into account the challenges facing the EU at present, as well as
the Union’s strategic goals. This is why an important part of the programme
focuses on climate change, on digitisation, on artificial intelligence and, of
course, on healthcare, with special emphasis on beating cancer.

Supporting at
least 150 European regions and communities in becoming resilient to the effects
of climate change by 2030 is one of the EU objectives. In order to fulfil it, Mission
Adaptation to Climate Change intends to make 100 million euros available for
large-scale action related to major climate threats like flooding, adjusted to
local circumstances.

Mission
Conquering Cancer plans to introduce a new, common governance model able to
ensure systematic and effective integration of research, innovation and
political developments with respect to cancer across Europe. Its targets
are equally ambitious: cooperation with Europe’s
Beating Cancer Plan to improve the lives of over 3 million people by 2030 through
prevention, treatment and solutions for better and longer living. The implementation
will go beyond research and innovation, but this mission too originates in the
Horizon Europe programme.

Mission
Restore our Oceans and Waters will create a network of lighthouses and
broaden the networks of protected maritime areas.

As part
of Mission 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, the selected cities will get
their citizens involved in drawing up contracts for climate-neutral cities so
as to contribute to ensuring climate neutrality by 2030. This is yet another ambitious
goal, whose reaching would entail substantial benefits, particularly
considering that, according to the UN, over two-thirds of the total carbon
emissions come from cities.

Not least,
Mission A Soil Deal for Europe will encourage people to take part in
scientific citizen initiatives to collectively improve the soil health.

The EU
Missions will help turn Europe into a greener, healthier continent, more
favourable to inclusion and more resilient, says Brussels. It is a set of actions
– research and innovation projects, policy measures and legislative
initiatives, citizens’ involvement – to achieve concrete goals with large
societal impact. We want
to deliver solutions to key global challenges by 2030!, said Margrethe Vestager, Executive
Vice-President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age. (tr.
A.M. Popescu)