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Coronavirus: Commission launches call for innovative response and recovery partnerships between EU regions
The European Commission yesterday launched a call for expressions of interest for thematic partnerships to pilot interregional innovation projects that support the response and recovery following the coronavirus pandemic. The aim of the call is to help regions catch the opportunities emerging from the crisis, develop resilience and build on green and digital transformation for the recovery of the most affected sectors, such as health and tourism.
Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, yesterday said:
“Based on previous successful similar pilot actions to boost innovation and competitiveness at regional level, the launch of this call is yet another example of EU capacity and willingness to support local economies in such difficult time. The focus on health, tourism, sustainability and digitalisation is perfectly in line with Commission's priorities and the needed response to counterattack the effects of the coronavirus crisis.”
Under this call, the European Commission seeks expressions of interest from transnational partnerships of regional authorities and other stakeholders as universities, research centres, clusters and SMEs willing to pilot interregional innovation partnerships aimed at facilitating the commercialisation and scale-up of interregional innovation projects and to incentivise business investment.
The call will support interregional partnerships in four thematic areas. First, the partnership for the development of the medical value chain is about working on medical products or devices to tackle the coronavirus at any level of the value chain, i.e. from conception to distribution. Second, the partnership on the safety and management of medical waste is linked to the topic of circular economy in the field of health. The third partnership is about projects that encourage sustainable and digital tourism. The fourth partnership focuses on developing hydrogen technologies in carbon-intensive regions, for instancethrough the conversion of existing coal mines, smelters or production facilities.
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