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Joint Research Centre (JRC)Joint Research Centre (JRC)

Annual Meeting of the EGTC Platform

The EGTC-ready to use - Beyond cohesion policy

Ulla EngelmannInterinstitutional and Stakeholder

Relations Brussels, 29 March 2012

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• Established in 1957• 7 institutes in 5 countries: Italy, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain• 2856 permanent and temporary staff as of Feb 2012• 1467 scientific publications in 2011• 245 key elements of support to the EU policy-makers in 2011• Budget: €381 million annually, plus €67 million earned income

JRC at a glanceJRC at a glance

"The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies.”

JRC is the European Commission's in-house science service. It provides the science for policy decisions, with a view to ensuring that the EU achieves its Europe 2020 goals for a productive economy as well as a safe, secure and sustainable future.

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EU Strategy for the Danube Region

• The European Council endorsed the EU Strategy for the Danube Region in June 2011 and called on action

• The Council INVITED the Commission “to play a leading role in the strategic coordination of the key delivery stages of the Strategy, in partnership with the Member States and in accordance with the subsidiarity principle…”

• The JRC has already conducted research on the Danube Region and provides scientific advise to EU policy, i.e. Floods and flood risk in Europe: European Flood Alert System; European Soil Data Centre

Policy FrameworkPolicy Framework

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Scientific Support to the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

Role of the JRC: Scientific analysis, facts and figures for the implementation of the EU Danube Strategy

Focus on four priorities:• Environmental Protection • Navigability• Irrigation and Agricultural and Development• Energy Production

JRC provides support as a facilitator and coordinator at the policy level

JRC Scientific SupportJRC Scientific Support

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Co-operation between the JRC and the Academies of Sciences of the Danube Region Member States

• 17 November 2011: BG, HU, RO and the SK Academies of Sciences signed a Letter of Intent at the World Science Forum in Budapest

• 25 January 2012: Kick-Off meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria• February-March 2012: AT and Bavarian Academy of Sciences joined the initiative• 11 April 2012: Scientific Meeting developing a pilot project based on JRC

reference data infrastructure

The JRC initiative provides a scientific base for the implementation of the EU Danube Strategy

JRC Scientific SupportJRC Scientific Support

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JRC initiative Scientific Support to the EU Danube Strategyis a cross-boarder research cooperation based on concrete projectssupports the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

• Potentials- Provide technical assistance to policy

for the Danube Region as a whole- Strengthen transnational cooperation

in science and research- Knowledge spill-over

• Challenges- Ensuring impact to policy- Matching expectations of

stakeholders- Providing European dimension in

design and implementation

ConclusionsConclusions

For the programming period 2014-2020 concerning Regional Policy: JRC smart specialisation platform for greater efficiency in the use of EU regional funds oriented to science, research and innovation(Element of conditionality in the proposal for the regulation)

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24 April 2012, Scientific Support to the Danube Strategy

• High level conference in Brussels• 4 Priority areas• Science community, policy makers

and interested stakeholders• Discussing key challenges in

implementing the EU Danube Strategy.

OutlookOutlook

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Thank you for your attention!

Joint Research Centre (JRC)Serving society, stimulating innovation,

supporting legislation