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New EU defence action plan offers major new policy and financial incentives
The European Defence Action Plan (EDAP) was adopted in November 2016 to strengthen European defence coordination through supporting Europe's defence industrial base to ensure it can meet future security needs in priority areas. This includes support for faster and closer cooperation between EU nations and their regions for defence research, demonstrators and the joint development and procurement of capabilities.
The EDAP will use unprecedented financial mechanisms such as its proposed European Defence Fund and other incentives to entice national defence ministries and industries to work with each other across borders.
The EDAP could translate into many opportunities at the regional level regarding defence technologies, skills and jobs. EDAP’s exciting new prospects include the development of a European defence research programme, support to defence skills, and greater use of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) for defence and dual-use innovation. EDAP clearly states that the European Regional Development Fund may fund defence activities in research and innovation. It also confirms ENDR’s mandate to help regions via best-practice sharing and delivering "dual use" smart specialisation strategies.
More info.
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March workshop on EDAP’s new defence opportunities for regions
The European Commission, together with EURADA and ERRIN, will host a half day workshop in Brussels on 9 March to explain the opportunities offered to regions and clusters by the new European Defence Action Plan.
The workshop will present the development of a European defence research programme, stronger use of the European Structural and Investment Funds for defence and dual use innovation, and support to defence skills.
More information, agenda & registration.
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ENDR first event highlighted dual use aspects to cybersecurity
The first ENDR stakeholder event took place in Rennes on 23-24 November as part of the Commission’s joint effort with regions and technology clusters to promote dual use innovations between Europe’s civil and defence sectors, while supporting SMEs and job growth.
The event brought together participants from SMEs, large companies, regional organisations and clusters, national authorities and academia from nine countries to review the best strategies for achieving these goals in the area of cyber security. Overall, it provided an excellent starting point for more cooperation between regions.
More info on the symposium's outcome.
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ENDR event on dual use & maritime/satellite technologies
ENDR’s next dual use conference will be in Southampton on 4 April 2017 tackling maritime dual use opportunities in autonomous systems and satellite applications. It will highlight innovation priorities and initiate relationships across defence and commercial sectors, involving major primes and SMEs.
The event will take place during Ocean Business 2017 and include a B2B opportunity.
More info.
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Study on the dual use potential of key enabling technologies now released
The report identified 38 dual use related innovation fields (and underlying key enabling technologies) grouped into seven major clusters. The seven are: energy for mobility; fundamental non-dependence materials and components; production and supply chain solutions (including “smart supply networks”); human assistance and robotics; security/cybersecurity systems; health and sanitary protection; and communications, navigation and surveillance systems.
The European Commission will now consider how to shape its future research calls-for-proposals to promote the technologies’ dual use potential. Horizon 2020 devotes around 30 % of its budget to dual-use KETs research.
Get the report here.
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Clusters Go International Call imminent
A call-for-proposals under the EU’s COSME 2016 programme (Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) is about to be released to promote clusters and cross-border business network collaboration.
The call will support actions to enable “European Strategic Cluster Partnerships” to become international. It will fund two of the partnerships in the defence and security sector, with total financing of EUR 400,000. Partnerships should develop cross-border links between European defence-related and civil industrial clusters and their joint strategies regarding dual use technologies, products and services towards non-EU countries.
More information soon at https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/cosme.
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