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Knowledge-based bioeconomy can make an important contribution to new approaches to safeguard the EU's sustainable growth, resource efficiency and competitiveness;
expanding bioeconomy has great development potential in terms of growth and jobs. This potential can be harnessed if those involved in regions and cities cooperate closely;
a future update of the bioeconomy strategy and action plan should focus on realising the potential and benefits of the bioeconomy for local and regional development.
greater synergies between European, national and regional bioeconomy initiatives and between different EU funds;
review of the existing legal framework, so as to remove any barriers to investment;
need for changes in education systems to better respond to demand for bioeconomy related skills.

In the Commission Staff Working Document on the review of the 2012 European Bioeconomy Strategy, the opinion is mentioned several times, and namely when it recalled the need to further support the development of the bioeconomy and stressed the central role that the bioeconomy can play in rural and coastal development.

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

- considers that expanding the bioeconomy, particularly in rural and suitable forested areas of the EU, represents major development potential in terms of growth and jobs, and points out that this potential can only be harnessed if those involved on the ground in the regions and municipalities cooperate closely and pursue shared objectives;

- suggests reviewing – with the Better Regulation initiative in mind – the existing legal framework governing the expansion of the bioeconomy, so as to remove any barriers to investment that exist in EU regulations;

- points out that the regional conditions needed to expand the bioeconomy are very varied, and asks the Commission to propose how regional approaches can be incorporated at an early stage when planning policies regarding the design of funding options. The objective is to find ways to design funding options that enable them to be successfully implemented in varied regional contexts, to overcome geographical challenges linked to insularity or remoteness and to be better integrated with national, regional and local funding programmes;

- underlines the need for further investment in developing and expanding a bio-based economy and calls for easier access to the various existing financing instruments by making use of complementarities and synergies; calls for the creation of new and improved ways to combine EU funding programmes (promoting innovation and investment, guarantees) in order to reduce risks for private investors and to help SMEs to bring bio-based products to the market;

- notes that the greatest possible use of bio-based products in as wide a range of sectors as possible also helps to secure and create jobs in new, sustainable markets – notably, in previously disadvantaged and less-industrialised regions, and in rural, mountain and coastal areas. This lends a social dimension to the bioeconomy.

- is convinced that a knowledge-based bioeconomy fully respectful of the environment can make an important contribution to sustainable development in Europe;