EC/Ukraine Agreement on cooperation in science and technology: renewal of the Agreement

PURPOSE: to renew the agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and Ukraine.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2025/463 on the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Ukraine.

CONTENT: by Decision 2003/96/EC, the Council approved the conclusion of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation 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 provides for the possibility of renewal by mutual agreement between the Parties for additional periods of five years. The Agreement has been renewed four times: in 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2020.

Both Parties having confirmed their intention to renew the Agreement for a further period of five years, this Council Decision aims to approve the renewal of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and Ukraine for a further period of five years.

The content of the renewed Agreement should remain identical to the content of the Agreement. For the purpose of ensuring continuity of the Agreement, the renewal should have retroactive effect as of 8 November 2024.

Despite the difficulties encountered in recent years and the war of aggression waged against it by Russia, Ukraine still has first class science and scientists, and remains an important science, technology and innovation (STI) actor in the neighbourhood of the Union.

Cooperation between the Union and Ukraine has traditionally 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.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 5.3.2025.