Collective projects

The integration of migrants, including refugees, in many Member States of the European Union and Associated Countries remains a challenge for both public authorities and local communities. ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits for the implementation of inclusion policies by public administrations may facilitate the management of the integration of migrants, improve autonomy and inclusion and therefore the lives of migrants. Such tools may help alleviate the tasks of public administrations and local authorities.

Recent challenges faced by the EU raise the question of whether Member States will continue on the same integrationist track. Differentiation, which has been core to the constitutional architecture of the EU, has gained prominence in the light of recent manifestations of centrifugal forces. The challenge is to ascertain whether and how much differentiation is necessary, conducive, sustainable and acceptable as well as how future approaches towards differentiation fare in the light of these findings.

Scope

a) Research and Innovation Action (2018)

The increasing percentage of people living in urban areas and the impact of digital technologies on public services make good governance, inclusive policies, smart planning and social and environmental sustainability ever more important for ensuring the quality of human life. Urban environments and agglomeration effects provide an ecosystem for economic growth and innovation. While the impact of the recent financial crisis on European urban areas is by no means uniform, it has led in many instances to rising socio-economic inequalities that are affecting social cohesion and resilience.

Governance is being transformed by new approaches to delivering public services which allow for the involvement of citizens and various other actors.

The prevention of and the protection against attacks that target modern ICT components, complex ICT infrastructures and emerging technologies (e.g. IoT) remains a difficult task. The complexity of heterogeneous collections of hardware and software components finds its roots in the diversity of development contexts and of levels of maturity, in the growing means of networked interactions, in the massive exchange of information and data, and in the varied schedules of systems lifecycles that generate highly dynamic behaviours.

Society assigns an increasing number of objectives to the policies influencing the agricultural sector and rural areas that it expects to see fulfilled. Therefore, justifications for policies extend well beyond mere food production. Evidence-based policy making implies the development and maintenance of appropriate instruments for use in the design of these policies and for the monitoring of their effects, taking advantage of new socio-economic approaches and increased possibilities opened up by progress in the ICT area.

Since their discovery, anti-microbials have played an essential role in the treatment of infectious diseases in humans and farmed animals, whether terrestrial or aquatic, and have enormously improved population health as well as food security and safety. However, with the widespread use of anti-microbials for human and animal health in recent decades, the world is increasingly confronted with the emergence and spread of microbes that resist anti-microbial treatment. Discoveries of new anti-microbials are not keeping up with pace anti-microbial resistance (AMR).

EU animal welfare legislation has evolved on the basis of scientific knowledge, improving the quality of animals' lives taking into account citizens' expectations and market demands. Nevertheless, a number of problems remain unsolved and the sector faces challenges to cope with them. Research is needed to further improve the management of animal welfare, by looking into new opportunities offered by technological developments, development of appropriate business models and linking animal welfare with other production parameters, including animal health and environmental performance.

Agricultural biodiversity is understood to comprise all components of biological diversity that (i) are of relevance for food and agriculture and all components of biological diversity that (ii) constitute agro-ecosystems. It is the result of highly dynamic interactions between the environment, genetic resources, agricultural practices and historical land management. The various dimensions of agricultural biodiversity play a significant role in conferring stability, resilience and adaptability to farming systems.

European aquaculture provides 1.25 million tonnes of seafood annually, valued at over 4 billion euro. However, Europe heavily depends on external markets to ensure consumer demands for seafood (including from fresh water) is met. EU aquaculture needs to increase the competiveness of its food products and to respond to consumer demands for high-quality and safe food, in a challenging context of climate change, greater competition for natural resources, and conflicting interests for space and markets.