The European Commission’s 2025 report, A European Framework for Science
Diplomacy, reveals that science is no longer confined to laboratories or ivory
towers—it’s now a tool of geopolitics.
Authored by 130 experts, this important document underscores the fact that scientific
knowledge and innovation have become strategic assets, shaping how nations
compete, collaborate, and confront shared global threats (European Commission,
2025).
The report builds on the idea that science diplomacy serves four vital functions:
diplomacy for science, science for diplomacy, science in diplomacy, and the
emerging “diplomacy in science” where scientists act as international negotiators in
their own right.
Facing rising global challenges—climate change, pandemic threats, digital
surveillance—Europe must wield its scientific influence more deliberately. Science
diplomacy allows the EU to protect its interests, remain technologically sovereign,
and uphold shared values, even amid geopolitical tension.
This report doesn’t just issue recommendations; it calls for action—strategic
instruments, operational pathways, and enabling structures—to make science
diplomacy central to EU foreign and security policy.
By aligning scientists, diplomats, and citizens under a common vision, the EU
positions itself to lead in a fragmented world.
Science diplomacy is Europe’s new frontier for global influence-bridging knowledge and negotiation, promoting multilateralism, and securing innovation and leadership while navigating a volatile international landscape (Europe commission, 2025)
