The European Commission and scientists and policy makers from the 14 Danube Region countries have today launched six scientific clusters to support economic development in the region. The six clusters will focus on: water; land & soil; bio-energy; air; data exchange & harmonisation; and smart specialisation. Presented at a high-level meeting in Bratislava today, the clusters will provide scientific evidence to support the Danube Strategy, and will also serve to foster scientific cooperation across the region. The launch event today was attended amongst others by the Slovak Prime Minister H.E. Robert Fico and the Vice President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič .
Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the European Commission
Speaking at the launch, Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the European Commission, said: “The EU Strategy for the Danube Region aims to boost growth and jobs in the area through better policy making and funding. Science can really help by providing evidence-based data to policy makers, helping them to make informed decisions for a region that boasts enormous geopolitical and economic diversity.”
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, said: “This is an excellent example of transnational science and policy cooperation, setting a benchmark for the EU and beyond. These clusters can boost scientific and economic performance in the region.”
The water, land & soil, bio-energy and air clusters will look at these key resources in relation to identified needs: environmental protection, irrigation & agricultural development and energy. The data cluster is meant to facilitate the exchange and harmonisation of clear and comparable data in areas such as biodiversity, river morphology, flood and drought risks, soils, crops or energy resources and potential. It will also set up a common data access point for the whole region – the first operational version should be available by December this year. The smart specialisation cluster will study how to concentrate resources on key scientific priorities based on the economic potential of the Danube region rather than spreading efforts and investment too thinly.
The clusters will bring together the scientific community from the 14 Danube countries, involving most of the Academies of science in the region, the Danube Rectors Conference (which involves 54 universities) and many other research organisations. The partners will take part in the cluster(s) of their choice, according to their priorities and expertise. Participation remains open to other interested parties. The clusters will foster cooperation not only among scientists, but also between scientists and policy makers, and will encourage a better uptake of scientific results in policy-making. While the scientific community will meet regularly, policy makers will be updated once a year. (Source: Press Release www.europa.eu)
The Romanian delegation meet with the Director General of JRC, Dominique Ristori, Vladimír Šucha, Deputy Director-General of the JRC and Edit Herczog – MEP. Part of the delegation were Cristiana Sirbu, Sorin Cimpeanu – Rector UASMV Bucharest, acad. Hera and Eric Bartha – CODCR.
Romania was represented at the highest political and scientific level. The delegation was led by Mihnea Costoiu, Romanian Minister Delegate for Higher Education, Scientic Support and Technological Develeopment, who stated in his speech:”Research projects are one of the solutions for the development of a sustainable Danube region”. Acad. Cristian Hera, vice-president of the Romanian Academy, delivered a presentation on Romanian scientific contribution to the Danube Strategy. At the event was also present Cristina Sirbu, Executive President Ecological Innitiative and Sustainable Development Foundation, Sorin Cimpeanu, Rector UASVM Bucharest and Eric Bartha, Secretary General CODCR.
