Research experts float European Darpa and raw-materials mission

Europe needs new scientific priorities as it lives through “age of disruption”, report says

Research experts have recommended that the EU set up an equivalent to the United States’ defence research agency and put in place a raw-materials ‘mission’, at a time of rising geopolitical tensions.

In a report published on 20 October, the group advising the European Commission on research and innovation policy says the EU needs new priorities for R&I and technology, as it faces an “age of disruption” due to global tensions and a dependence on fossil fuels—an issue it was “reminded” of following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.