3rd EU-Faroe Islands Joint Committee meeting under Horizon Europe
The 3rd EU-Faroe Islands Joint Committee meeting under Horizon Europe, was hosted by the Faroe Islands, in Tórshavn, by the Ministry of Children and Education on 8 April 2025.
The Joint Committee meeting was co-chaired by Ms. Anne Haglund-Morrissey, Deputy Head of Unit of ‘International cooperation – Europe and Americas’, DG Research and Innovation of the European Commission, and by Mr. Poul Geert Hansen, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Children and Education of the Faroe Islands. It was hosted by the Ministry of Children and Education in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, on 8 April 2025, and was held in a hybrid way.
The association of the Faroe Islands to the EU Research and Innovation Framework Programmes for the past 15 years, has brought great value to the Faroese research community, and the EU alike. Hence, cooperation in research and innovation throughout the Framework Programmes has become a major pillar in the bilateral relations of the Parties, as also highlighted in the Memorandum of Understanding on Enhanced cooperation between the EU and the Faroe Islands of 2024, and this close cooperation has only continued under Horizon Europe.
The EU side informed about the start of the new European Commission mandate, with the portfolio of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva on Startups, Research and Innovation. The new policy priorities of Commissioner Zaharieva were introduced, such as reaching the target of investing 3% of GDP in research and development, proposing a European Research Area Act, developing a long-term strategy to boost European Research Infrastructures, a European Innovation Act and a Startup and scaleup strategy, and the overarching aim of simplifying the Framework Programme.
The Faroe Islands provided recent updates on research and innovation policy developments and activities. It was noted that the national research programmes have become increasingly popular with a recent 20 % increase in applications, including a substantial share from researchers based in research entities outside of the Faroe Islands. Moreover, the Faroe Islands stated their ambition to increase R&D intensity to 3% of GDP. The important contribution of private R&D investment was noted, as well as investments in new R&I structures. In addition, the Faroese side presented their efforts to provide and publish statistics on Faroese research and innovation investments.
The discussions also included key research and innovation policy developments on both sides, the implementation of the EU-Faroe Islands Horizon Europe Association Agreement, with an overview of the Faroese participation across the Programme and expertise in areas such as climate mitigation and adaptation, the environment, marine resources, ocean science and exploitation, Arctic research, food security, resource efficiency and raw materials. Opportunities for further engagement in the Programme and in related R&I policy fora were addressed.
The meeting concluded by both sides noting the positive developments in the Faroese research and innovation sector. In addition, both sides emphasized the efforts and actions to further build on this positive trend and to promote the participation of Faroese researchers and research entities in the Framework Programme to benefit maximally from the association.