Council Decision (EU) 2025/463 of 5 March 2025 on the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine

What it is

to renew the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. BACKGROUND: the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine was signed in Copenhagen on 4 July 2002. Initially concluded until 31 December 2002, the Agreement has been renewed four times: in 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2020. The current Agreement will expire on 8 November 2024. Cooperation in research and innovation between the EU and Ukraine has grown steadily in recent years, despite Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. Cooperation has been very active notably in the fields of advanced/new materials, IT-technology, physics and astronomy, engineering, agricultural technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology and their applications across various sectors such as aviation, energy, and biomedicine, in particular immunotherapies for cancer. BACKGROUND: by Decision 2003/96/EC, the Council approved the conclusion of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine. The Agreement was signed in Copenhagen on 4 July 2002 and entered into force on 11 February 2003. The Agreement was concluded for an initial period ending on 31 December 2002 and was renewed for additional periods of five years with the last renewal expiring on 8 November 2024. Given that Ukraine is an important actor in science, technology and innovation in the neighbourhood of the Union, both parties considered that the renewal of the Agreement would be in their mutual interest in order to continue facilitating cooperation in common science and technology priority areas. Therefore, both parties have confirmed their intention to renew the Agreement for an additional period of five years. The content of the renewed Agreement should remain identical to the content of the Agreement. Therefore, it is now necessary to approve the renewal of the Agreement. CONTENT: the draft Council Decision concerns the approval, on behalf of the Union, of the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine for an additional period of five years. To ensure the continuity of the Agreement, the renewal should have retroactive effect as of 8 November 2024. The European Parliament adopted by 591 votes to 9, with 9 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine. Parliament gave its consent to the renewal of the Agreement. As a reminder, the ‘Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine’ was signed in Copenhagen on 4 July 2002 and was concluded originally until 31 December 2002. The Agreement provides for a possibility of renewal by common agreement between the Parties for additional periods of five years. The Agreement has been renewed four times: in 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2020. Ukraine has a long tradition of science and technology excellence…

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