On 13 January 2026, the 11th Chile–EU Joint Steering Committee Meeting (JSCM) was held in Santiago, Chile, under the Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the European Community and the Republic of Chile.
Hosted by Chile in a hybrid format, the meeting was co-chaired by Emilie Rojas, International Affairs Adviser at the Cabinet of the Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation of Chile, and Carole Mancel-Blanchard, Head of Unit for International Cooperation – Europe and Americas of the Directorate-General for Research & Innovation of the European Commission.
The Director-General for Research and Innovation, Marc Lemaître, opened and closed the meeting alongside with Cristian Cuevas Vega, Vice-Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation of Chile.
Key priorities and policy initiatives
The EU and Chile reaffirmed their alignment on key priorities, emphasising their status as strategic and reliable partners. united by shared values and principles , particularly significant in today’s complex global geopolitical context.
Chile presented its strategies on Artificial Intelligence (AI), on Supercomputing Infrastructure, on Data Centres and Ecosystems, on Lithium, Salars and Raw Materials, on Astronomical Infrastructure, as well as their Structural Funding for University-Based Research, Development and Innovation.
The EU highlighted several key initiatives including the Competitive Compass, the recent updates of the European Economic Security Strategy, the Startup and Scaleup Strategy, the AI in Science Strategy, the Life Sciences Strategy, the European Strategy on Research and Technology Infrastructures, the Chose Europe for Science Initiative, and the forthcoming European Innovation Act.
The priority areas of cooperation include:
- Research training, mobility and career development.
- Space cooperation and earth observation, including the Copernicus Programme.
- Digital, covering AI in Science and the EU-LAC Digital Alliance.
- Life Sciences, namely the nexus climate change-health, biotechnology and bioeconomy.
- Green energy transition, including Mission Innovation, green hydrogen and lithium.
- Marine and polar research.
- Astronomy research infrastructures, in particular the European Southern Observatory’s unique infrastructures of which Chile is host.
The meeting reaffirmed the central role of research and innovation in the overall EU-Chile relations and recalled the substantial participation of Chile in Horizon Europe, where it ranks fourth among all Latin America countries and thirteenth among non-EU/non-Associated to the Programme countries.
The European Commission also presented topics from the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026–2027 of potential interest to Chile and recalled the importance of strengthening the Chilean National Contact Point (NCP) network, as well as exploring the possibility of setting up a complementary funding mechanism to support the participation of Chilean entities in Horizon Europe.
Finally, both sides expressed their intention to scale up the EU-Chile cooperation, that will contribute to the development of a Work Plan of initiatives to be implemented until the next JSCMT.