Global Science Collaboration: Sean Kelly, MEP Announces the Launch of the Transatlantic Science Forum

As a principle outcome of the EU Science: Global Challenges, Global Collaboration Conference (ES:GC2), held at the European Parliament in March 2013, Sean Kelly and ISC launched the Transatlantic Science Forum (TSF), on 8 July to examine the implications for science of the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

On November 28th, 2011, U.S. and EU leaders agreed to start to support jobs and promote growth and competitiveness on both sides of the Atlantic through the TTIP. President Obama included the TTIP on the U.S.’s agenda during his 2013 State of the Union address and most recently, in June 2013, at the G8 in Loch Erne, County Fermanagh, the U.S. and EU announced that formal negotiation talks will begin in July 2013.

Following these recent developments, Sean Kelly MEP and ISC have launched the Transatlantic Science Forum (TSF) to discuss the implications for science collaboration of the planned partnership through a series of meetings to be held in Brussels and Washington, D.C.

Sean Kelly MEP, and co-founder of the TSF, was elected in 2009 for the Ireland South constituency and is also a member of the Parliament's Committee for Industry, Research and Energy where he is the Rapporteur for the General Data Protection Regulation, the most important reform data privacy law in two decades. Additionally, he was the chair of the EU Science: Global Challenges, Global Collaboration (ES:GC2) conference in March 2013, was voted the 2012 MEP of the Year for Research and Innovation, and is a member of the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue.

MEP Kelly, on the occasion of the launch, said, “The TSF will explore how to advance scientific collaboration between the U.S. and EU, through supporting the enabling regulatory environment, supporting cooperation on science capacity building, developing a more thematic approach, which will lead to job creation, growth and innovation in both regions, and will further advance science collaboration globally.”

The TSF will monitor progress of the partnership and will analyze the potential impact of proposed measures on science collaboration. This holistic approach is intended to build on the participation between research and science programs and to enhance Transatlantic collaboration in science, technology, research and innovation. Based on the deliberations of the Forum’s meetings, the TSF will indicate inputs and proposals on its own initiative, which will feed into the formal negotiation process.

The TSF will alternate meeting locations between Washington, D.C. and Brussels. After the launch of TSF on July 8th, the first official meeting will be the week of 16 September in Washington, D.C. followed by a meeting in October in Brussels.

For further information, please contact:

Kevin Keary at Sean Kelly’s Office:
[e-mail]

Elizabeth Boorman at ISC’s Office:
[e-mail]

Or visit:
www.globalsciencecollaboration.org

For media enquiries, please contact Jessica Hadjis at ISC:
[e-mail], [phone]

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Pilar Gomez at [e-mail]

Editor’s Note

The formal negotiation process for TTIP will begin the week of 8 July. Following this, there will be meetings for the formal TTIP negotiation process in mid-October and December. Together the EU and U.S. have invested more than 2.8 trillion EUR in each other’s economy and the agreement is estimated for the EU to sell an additional 187 billion EUR worth of goods and services to the U.S.

Research and innovation is one of the core pillars of the policy framework which the European Union has adopted for the medium-term future and can be furthered through global science collaboration, including initiatives such as the TTIP. The Europe 2020 Strategy sets out a vision of a European economy that is based on research, knowledge and innovation, to become an “Innovation Union” with improved framework conditions for research and access to finance to ensure that innovative ideas can be turned into products and services that create growth and jobs. Horizon 2020, the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation is the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union.

Further information: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/

http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2013/june/wh-ttip

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