1. 1 Joint Research Centre (JRC) Annual Meeting of the EGTC Platform The EGTC-ready to use - Beyond cohesion policy Ulla Engelmann Interinstitutional and Stakeholder Relations Brussels, 29 March 2012

2. 2 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 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.

3. 3 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 Framework

4. 4 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 Support

5. 5 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 Support

6. 6 JRC initiative Scientific Support to the EU Danube Strategy is a cross-boarder research cooperation based on concrete projects supports 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 Conclusions 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 )

7. 7 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. Outlook

8. 8 Thank you for your attention! Joint Research Centre (JRC) Serving society, stimulating innovation, supporting legislation