EU Commission launches five EU missions to tackle major challenges

The Commission launched today five new EU missions, a new and innovative way to work together and improve the lives of people in Europe and beyond. EU missions aim to tackle big challenges in health, climate and the environment, and to achieve ambitious and inspiring goals in these areas.
 

A novelty of Horizon Europe and also an original concept in EU policy, bringing together several Commission services under the authority of nine College members, missions will support research to deliver on the Commission's main priorities and find responses to some of the greatest challenges we are facing today: fighting cancer, adapting to climate change, protecting the ocean, seas and waters, living in greener cities and ensuring healthy soil and food. They are a new tool that includes a set of actions, such as research and innovation projects, policy measures and legislative initiatives, to achieve concrete goals with large societal impact and within a specified timeline. Five missions will aim to deliver solutions to key global challenges by 2030:

• Adaptation to Climate Change: support at least 150 European regions and communities to become climate resilient by 2030;
• Cancer: working with Europe's Beating Cancer Plan to improve the lives of more than 3 million people by 2030 through prevention, cure and solutions to live longer and better;
• Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030;
• 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030;
• A Soil Deal for Europe: 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

EU missions are launching today into their full implementation phase. The first Horizon Europe work programme for 2021-22, published on 16 June, includes a set of actions that lay the ground for their implementation. It will be updated with a full research and innovation agenda by the end of the year. In parallel, missions will engage with participating regions, cities and organisations, as well as citizens in the Member States.

Further information can be found here.

Source: EU commission