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News announcement29 July 2021

2020 Annual Report published: how the JRC tackled one-of-a-kind year

The JRC published the Annual Report for 2020 – a year of unprecedented challenges for Europe and the world. The Annual Report provides detailed information on the wide-ranging accomplishments of the JRC over the year.

Annual report 2020 – Joint Research Centre
Annual report 2020 – Joint Research Centre
© EU 2021

Today, the JRC releases its 2020 Annual Report. 2020 was a year of unprecedented challenges for Europe and the world. But it was also a year where Europe’s leading science and research shone through, helping the Commission take decisive action to meet the challenges and continue building a positive future together.

The JRC was at the forefront of these efforts and relentlessly carried out its core mission of informing policymaking with sound science and knowledge through analytical, anticipatory and innovative approaches.

The JRC refocused right from the start of the coronavirus crisis to strengthen the EU’s response, helping to protect lives and livelihoods - from ensuring that diagnostic tests are reliable to helping forecast potential recovery scenarios.

Reflecting on 2020, JRC Director-General Stephen Quest said: “2020 proved beyond doubt that it is very difficult to respond to complex policy challenges such as responding to the COVID-19 crisis, which has health, social, economic and geopolitical implications, without solid facts, without sound science and without very strong analysis. In that sense, it was an opportunity for us to really showcase our expertise and to show the relevance of a scientific organisation such as the JRC in the broader policy construct”.

The JRC’s 2020 Annual report highlights how the JRC mobilised to tackle the then-emerging COVID-19 Pandemic and how its role evolved throughout the year.

It also gives insights on how the organisation routinely supports the Commission’s political priorities, what the main streams of activities are and what the JRC’s key accomplishments have been over the year.

As in previous years, the Annual Report also showcases how the JRC supported a wide range of policy priorities to help achieve a more competitive, fair, sustainable and influential Europe. This includes:

Among the JRC’s direct support to political priorities, the report also covers activities including:

The Annual Report provides further detailed information on the wide-ranging accomplishments of the JRC over the year.

The publication also provides an overview of corporate initiatives, international agreements, facts and figures and resources related to the functioning of the JRC.

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Report – JRC Annual Report 2020

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Details

Publication date
29 July 2021