What’s going on in Europe: 8-21 July

This week: R&D leadership, space images, animal research and more

R&D leadership

The EU’s position of global R&D leadership is gradually being diminished by the more rapid advances of the world’s other economic and scientific powers, a major report has warned. The Science, Research and Innovation Performance report, produced for the European Commission by a team of its officials and independent experts, said the EU remained a research and innovation “powerhouse”. But it added: “This position has been eroding as the EU’s major trading partners have been improving their innovation performance at a faster pace over recent years.” The report noted that the EU’s R&D investment declined during the pandemic, while China and the US built on their leads in the volume and quality of their scientific outputs.