The European Partnership Animal Health & Welfare (EUP AH&W) will provide society with a sustainable production for both terrestrial and aquatic animals, where infectious animal diseases are prevented and controlled, antimicrobials are used prudently, and a high level of animal welfare is provided in every phase of animal’s life. The objectives of the EUP AH&W fit in with the European Green Deal and its associated Farm to Fork strategy for a fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly food system. From its start, the EUP AH&W includes 56 Research Performing Organizations (RPO) and 30 Funding Organizations (FO) from 24 EU and non-EU European countries. The RPO partners provide significant research-based advice to competent authorities in the EU and are the backbone of Animal Health & Welfare (AHW) research in Europe. They collaborated to transpose 16 actions from the EUP Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (EUP SRIA) into 17 joint internal projects. The FO partners will contribute through external calls to further R&I actions from the EUP SRIA not covered by internal activities as they require other expertise or industry participations. Due to the close link between animal health and welfare and human well-being, the One Health-One Welfare perspective will take a prominent place in the EUP AH&W. The mobilisation of resources from both RPO and FO together with EC co-funding will allow the Partnership to achieve ambitious goals for AHW at the transnational level, in Europe and beyond. New technologies develop rapidly and provide new R&I opportunities for AHW, to be included in the EUP AH&W as joint internal activities and projects initiated through external calls. The management will set up appropriate procedures and methodologies to ensure a fair coverage of AHW, of terrestrial and aquatic animal species, the various priority areas and to ensure the uptake of the results in the midterm (outcomes) and long term (impact) for science, society and policy.

PROTECTED aims to develop expertise and protective capabilities against Endocrine Disruptors (EDs). EDs and their mixtures are a modern day health concern leading to failing ecological systems, poor agricultural production and health effects such as obesity, cancer and infertility. While analytical methods have advanced enormously, focus has been mainly on synthetic chemicals, overlooking emerging EDs and real-life multiple substance exposure. A new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers equipped with skills to assess and understand the real-life risk of complex mixtures of EDs and trained to convert resulting knowledge and ideas into accessible tools and services for the long-term control of potential ED risk is urgently needed. The PROTECTED Innovative Training Network [ITN] proposes a holistic approach by providing 15 individual, personalised research projects with exposure to scientific, innovative and entrepreneurial training mobility across the ITN. The intersectorial network is comprised of 12 training sites at academia, research centres, a bioassay technology SME, a QSAR technology SME, water provider, and animal feed supplier. Together they cover multiple disciplines including analytical science of food, feed, and environment, epidemiology, risk assessment, social science and toxicology. This combined expertise enables a highly focused program for developing novel tools and concepts and training for the detection, analysis and improved risk assessment of EDs, especially mixture effects. Methodology will include emerging technologies; multiplexed analysis, mixture modelling, mechanistic and exposure studies, explants and cell or whole organism bioassays. The project will provide a unique and high level of training for a new generation of specialists with transferable skills and enhanced career perspectives. These specialists will ultimately aid the efficient development of future control strategies for improved health.

Production and productivity of Mediterranean marine fish aquaculture, mainly seabass and seabream, are stagnating or growing slowly as a result of multiple and interrelated causes. To accomplish the objective of improving its competitiveness and sustainability, MedAID is structured in a first interdisciplinary WP to assess technical, environmental, market, socioeconomic and governance weaknesses, and in several specialized WPs exploring innovative solutions, followed by an integrating WP, which will provide codes of practice and innovative tool-boxes throughout the value chain to enhance the sector performance holistically. Various stakeholders will interact in the consultation, communication, dissemination and training WPs ensuring practical orientation of the project and results implementation. Biological performance (nutrition, health and genetics) will be scrutinized to identify and quantify the relevant components to improve Key Performance Indicators (KPIs: growth rates, mortality and feed efficiency), thus contributing to increase production efficiency. Economic, business, marketing, environmental, social, administrative and legal factors will be addressed to obtain integrated solutions to shift towards a market-oriented and consumer-responsible business and to face the multiple administrative, environmental and social issues constraining competitiveness and public acceptance. An interdisciplinary consortium of research and industrial partners will carry out R&D and case study activities to close the existing gaps. Mediterranean countries (EU and non-EU) with significant aquaculture production are represented. Northern European R&D institutions will participate by bringing successful technological tools and integrated approaches that Mediterranean aquaculture is missing today. MedAID will impact the sector positively by providing innovative tools, integrated marketing and business plans and by improving the sector image, sustainability and governance.