Policymakers, regional leaders and research and innovation experts met in Brussels on 5 May to discuss how a new EU strategy for research and technology infrastructures could better link local assets with Europe-wide innovation priorities.
The high-level seminar was organised in collaboration with the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the European Commission informed on Wednesday.
Tanya Hristova, First Vice-Chair of the CoR’s SEDEC Commission, said regions and local authorities should be treated as strategic actors in Europe’s innovation agenda.
Eszter Lakos, speaking from the European Parliament’s industry and research committee (ITRE), said infrastructure investment should align with Europe’s industrial and technological priorities, and called for stronger links between EU funding tools and regional capabilities.
European Commission officials Éva-Mária Szávuj and Kirsi Haavisto said Europe needed a more coordinated and accessible “infrastructure landscape”, including easier cross-border access for researchers, innovators and industry.
Fragmentation and access raised as recurring issues
Speakers in a panel discussion cited fragmentation and uneven access to research and technology facilities as recurring obstacles, while also pointing to collaboration, knowledge valorisation and cross-regional partnerships as areas for expansion.
Cities and regions were repeatedly described as central to hosting and integrating infrastructures into local innovation ecosystems, connecting universities, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and public authorities.
Markku Markkula, rapporteur of the CoR’s opinion on the strategy, said local and regional actors should be fully involved in both designing and implementing the approach through multi-level governance.
The Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP), described as a joint initiative between the European Commission’s research directorate and the CoR, was cited as the framework supporting dialogue between EU institutions and regional and local authorities on research and innovation policy implementation.
