It is not possible to avoid all the challenges to plant health posed by global trade, increasing travel activities and climate change. However, it is possible to optimise strategies to address these challenges with effective cooperation and coordination. The success of the Euphresco self-sustained network as a platform for the coordination of European phytosanitary research has set the ground for discussions on the development of initiative(s) to address the needs of other regions of the world and on global phytosanitary research coordination. The aim of the project is to enhance national and regional phytosanitary research coordination beyond what the Euphresco self-sustained network has achieved and to set the foundations for global phytosanitary research coordination. This will be achieved by building on the foundations developed by the Euphresco self-sustained network and explore fit-for-purpose activities. The objectives of the project are: -To develop a strategic research agenda. The document will guide phytosanitary research programming activities of EU countries and support them to address regional and global challenges through synergies with other regions/continents of the world. -To organize joint calls on common research priorities to support and enhance international collaboration through the commissioning and implementation of research projects. Monitoring of the research projects will ensure that they remain relevant to the needs of the research funders and policy makers and impactful. -To develop and test models for the governance, the structure and the operation of a global network for phytosanitary research coordination. A business plan will be established to guide the development of a global network for phytosanitary research coordination. -To engage with relevant plant health research stakeholders and foster knowledge exchange, engagement in the project activities, co-development, dissemination and adoption of outputs.

The objective of FACCE SURPLUS is to strengthen the European Research Area in support of different integrated food and non-food biomass production and transformation systems, especially by organising, implementing and cofunding with the EU a joint call for transnational research projects on the topic of sustainable and resilient agriculture. As this topic falls within the scope of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) of the Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE–JPI), this ERA-NET Cofund will contribute substantially to the delivery of the FACCE–JPI SRA. It will thereby also contribute to the overall EU objective of building the European Research Area through enhanced cooperation, coordination and alignment of national research programmes. The action FACCE SURPLUS also aims at implementing other joint activities such as organizing workshops, scientific events, clustering of research platforms and infrastructures in the field of food and non-food biomass production and transformation systems, and also additional joint calls without EU cofunding. Launching such joint calls on a regular basis would pave the way to the long term objective of FACCE SURPLUS to establish a self-sustaining joint programme for FACCE-JPI. This will include establishing links with ongoing FACCE-JPI actions as well as related EU and international initiatives. FACCE SURPLUS will also support innovation and value creation from biomass in a sustainable way. The ERA-NET Cofund instrument is appropriate for FACCE-JPI, since it provides additional incentive to participating countries to engage financially on the field of sustainable and resilient agriculture, but also includes the flexibility to implement further activities to contribute to the establishment of a renewable bioeconomy in the ERA.

The aim of SUSFOOD2 is to foster research and innovation in the field of sustainable food systems through enhanced cooperation and coordination between EU member and associated states. It will thereby contribute to the overall EU objective of building the European Research Area as well as a newly emerging Food Research Area. Major challenges will influence future food chains asking for innovative solutions to - respond to increased demand for food by increasing production sustainably (Food and Nutrition Security) - make optimal use of resources while mitigating impact on the environment - reducing losses and waste - follow a whole food chain approach from production to consumption - improving competitiveness of the European agri-food-business SUSFOOD2 focusses on sustainability in post-harvest food production, thus covering relevant fields from natural sciences to food engineering and social sciences. Building on the achievements of its predecessor in FP7, SUSFOOD2 Cofund will strengthen efforts to support and fund excellent research in the food area by one co-funded call of around 11.4 Mio. €. The consortium also aims at implementing other additional activities in a three-fold approach: i) strengthening networking and knowledge transfer among various stakeholders (i.e. by workshops, stakeholder events etc.) ii) additional funding activities without EU co-fund (preferably linked with other initiatives) iii) implementation and further advancement of the SUSFOOD SRA (developed in FP7) With the outlined approach SUSFOOD2 will contribute to - maximizing impact of transnational cooperation pooling resources (material and intellectual) and implementing best practice - using synergies and reducing overlap by interacting with related (international) initiatives (especially JPIs HDHL and FACCE) - Promoting the outputs of SUSFOOD2 network and funded projects via targeted dissemination thus sharing common vision and creating awareness for the field of food sustainability.

This proposal seeks funding under the Horizon 2020 Work Programme to establish an ERA-NET for International Coordination of Research on infectious Animal Diseases (ICRAD). The scope for this ERA-NET has been developed under the SCAR Collaborative Working Group on Animal Health & Welfare Research (CWG AHW), which seeks to build further on 2 previous successful ERA-NETS (EMIDA, ANIHWA). 31 partners from 20 countries initially seek to support one co-funded call followed by other joint activities including the update of the EU Animal Health Strategic Research Agenda and the initiation of new international partnerships. Animal diseases cause severe social, economic and environmental damage and in some cases threaten human health as well. Disease threats to the livestock industry have increased in the last decades due to globalisation, altering production methods, climate changes and increased contacts between wildlife and livestock. Effective control tools or key knowledge leading to better control is still missing for many important livestock diseases, including for African Swine Fever and animal influenza which pose great challenges in Europe and globally. Partners in this ERA-NET will address these threats through joint European research within a framework which supports multi-disciplinary research in the fields of (i) fundamental understanding of host/(vector)/pathogen interactions and the epidemiology of disease; (ii) vaccinology and (iii) diagnostics. Research and innovation coordinated through ICRAD will (i) increase preparedness and ability to respond to emerging and endemic livestock threats; (ii) provide improved vaccines and diagnostic tools and strategies; (iii) contribute to the reduction of antibiotic and antiparasitic resistance; and (iv) contribute to animal welfare by better disease prevention. By reducing the burden of animal disease and its impact on international trade, ICRAD will enhance food security and sustainable livestock production.

Organic agriculture is considered to be one of the important development pathways towards a more sustainable agriculture and food production. This development has been and will be dependent on continuous research and innovation. CORE Organic started in 2004 and has been evolving for more than a decade. The present proposal for a CORE Organic Cofund will continue, to update and consolidate the series of transnational research calls that support a focused and coordinated research and innovation effort covering the most important challenges along the organic value chains, for example: increasing the organic production potentials, enhancing resource efficiency, and improving animal welfare. In addition this research and innovation plays a key role in adapting to the new EU regulations on Organic Farming. The new CORE Organic network will be expanded with additional partners from Netherlands and Italy totalling to 25 partners from 19 countries. One joint call with 3-4 topics will be launched with co-funding from the European Commission and another call without EU co-funding is being planned for 2019 as part of the additional activities. Other ERA-NETs with a similar scope will be invited to join this second call. The CORE Organic partners are working to increase innovation potential, knowledge accessibility, alignment of national research and international outreach in support of the ERA-NET’s objectives. CORE Organic will closely monitor the funded projects and offer assistance regarding stakeholder involvement and dissemination in order to secure high impact of the research efforts. An impact assessment will be performed after the end of the projects. Looking to the future, the CORE Organic Cofund aims to deliver results that can be used to develop the organic sector throughout Europe and the world, and to continue to be a key player in the European Research Area.