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Building a stronger EU R&I policy is an investment in the future  

Europe needs strong regions with the strength and vision to support research and innovation ecosystems and which have real impact in a globalised world. Commissioner Carlos Moedas said at the Plenary Session of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) today, joining the call of Europe's cities and regions for a more multidisciplinary, inclusive, open and collaborative research and innovation (R&I) policies.

 

The European Committee of the Regions today welcomed the report produced by the High Level Group on maximising the impact of EU R&I programmes, which highlights the leverage effect of R&I funding on growth and jobs, and adopted its formal position on the mid-term evaluation of the Horizon 2020 programme through an opinion from Christophe Clergeau (FR/PES), member of the Pays-de-la-Loire Regional Council. The High Level Group's report, as well as the European Commission's new communication on Strengthening Innovation in Europe’s Regions, which was published today, highlights the role of cities and regions as laboratories of change for piloting new ideas and concepts.

 

Carlos Moedas , Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "The communication lays out our desire to improve how different sources of EU funding can be combined together to build regional research and innovation infrastructure, to help regions to specialise in what they do best and to become European and global leaders. Much has been done in this field. Regions have designed over 120 smart specialisation strategies, establishing research and innovation priorities which are supported by over €40 billion from the European Regional Development Fund between 2014 and 2020. However, combining Horizon 2020 and cohesion funding remains complex and needs to be simplified. You have your finger on the pulse of the citizens in each of your regions. We need your knowledge and practical experience to design of the next programmes."

 

Highlighting Horizon 2020's success to date in focusing on tangible results, the CoR President Markku Markkula said: "Regional research and innovation ecosystems are pre-requisites to inventing and building a better future for European citizens. To shape the Europe we want, we have to tackle societal challenges at all levels: European, national, regional and local. That is why the CoR will happily champion the idea of cities and regions as innovation hubs of change where new ideas and concepts can be piloted. But we are also committed to taking this one step further by ensuring that innovative projects and can also be scaled up across Europe."

 

The opinion of the European Committee of the Regions, which was adopted on Wednesday, largely shares the main conclusions of the High Level Group's report including the notion that structural funds can contribute to building a more globally competitive Europe through enhanced R&I capacity in all regions and especially those lagging behind. However, rapporteur Christophe Clergeau opposes transferring cohesion policy funding to measures under the framework programme. Instead, it calls for measures to strengthen R&I systems, taking into account the context of each country and region, to reach the Europe 2020 target of spending 3% of GDP on public and private R&I.

 

"Research and innovation have to be firmly rooted in all cities and regions and therefore a greater priority in all EU policies, including cohesion policy. Particularly important is to improve synergies between different policies and to expand the co-construction of R&I programmes with the regions and cities. It should also take better account of regional innovation ecosystems and acknowledge all forms of excellence, including non-technological innovation and social innovation, which can respond to societal needs and improve citizens' quality of life", Mr Clergeau said.

 

Other key proposals of the CoR opinion include:

Promoting excellence in cities and regions via smart specialisation strategies and better coordinating regional and European investment in structural projects in relation to smart specialisation

Relaxation of the regulatory framework for piloting activities and simplification of the rules for innovative public procurement

More support for emerging industries and for interregional networks of excellence; strengthening of regional innovation hubs and ecosystems through a new "territorial connections" action to recognise and fund regional excellence networks, along the lines of the Vanguard Initiative

Five operational principles for the EU, the Member States and local and regional authorities to build on synergies: coherence, compatibility, complementarity, co-construction and the ecosystems principle

Setting up the European Innovation Council with the involvement of local and regional authorities.

 

Contact:
Lauri Ouvinen
Tel. +32 22822063

lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu

 

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