News

Directors from the 32 Vanguard Initiative regions today joined in welcoming the European Commission’s continued advancement of Smart Specialisation approaches in its future budget.

On the occasion of its annual Directors meeting on 28 June 2018, the Vanguard Initiative regions took stock of the European Commission’s proposals for the 2021-2027 Multiannual financial framework (MFF) and related sectoral regulations.

Since its establishment 4 years ago, the Vanguard Initiative has been successful in putting its key political messages high on the EU agenda. The Vanguard Initiative’s model of interregional collaboration along industrial value chains, based on smart specialisation principles, has been up-scaled as a model for EU policies, notably through the Smart Specialisation Thematic Platforms.

Vanguard Initiative welcomes the new proposals from the Commission which aim to further develop this approach, by removing obstacles and providing appropriate funding solutions. In particular we are pleased to note the new Interreg component ‘Interregional Innovation Investments’ inspired by the Vanguard Initiative experience.

The Vanguard Initiative network remains fully committed to pursuing a constructive dialogue with European Institutions in order to continue our joint endeavours further towards collaborative and competitive successes for all EU regions and smooth implementation of those proposals.