Regions are playing an increasingly key role as drivers of innovation and should therefore be placed at the centre of the new EU industrial policy narrative, the European Committee of the Regions says in a set of recommendations adopted on the 31 January.
The recommendations, contained in an opinion drafted by Andrea Putzu (IT/ECR), call for better coordination at all levels of government and for better synergies between EU funds and programmes that aim to stimulate green and digital innovation. Regions and cities are often tasked with coordinating these initiatives on the ground, but the task can be extremely demanding as each tool is subject to its own regulatory and governance framework.
European funds and programme designed to stimulate place-based innovation include Horizon Europe, EU structural and investment (ESI) funds, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Erasmus, InvestEU, and sectoral programmes.
The opinion argues, however, that the cornerstone on which to strengthen innovation capacity at local and regional levels is cohesion policy, and that cohesion policy must therefore continue to benefit all EU regions in the next programming period, after 2027.
Partnerships
between the public sector, universities, businesses and civil society
are also identified as being critical to innovation. The CoR argues that
such partnerships help to develop solutions tailored to regional and
local needs and increase the competitiveness of regions. to develop
solutions tailored to regional and local needs. (...)
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