JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE - SEVILLE - DG NEAR supports Western Balkans “Smart Specialisation Strategies”

Colin Wolfe was appointed Head of Western Balkans Regional Cooperation in the Directorate General for Neighbourhood & Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission, in January 2017. He is responsible for the Regional Cooperation policy approach, as well as supporting multi-country assistance programmes. Previously, Colin held several posts in the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy. In particular, he was Head of the Competence Centre Smart & Sustainable Growth. He was also responsible for regional cooperation, including the development of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, and the full range of INTERREG programmes in the EU-28. He also worked to set up and implement the EU PEACE Programme in Ireland/Northern Ireland. Prior to his different responsibilities for regional cooperation, Colin worked in the Budget and Employment services of the Commission. He also spent considerable time with Directorate General Enlargement, negotiating the accession of Hungary and Malta. He is a graduate in natural sciences of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, Ireland and holds a post-graduate degree in geography from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

date: 07/05/2019

As in the EU-28, Western Balkans partners are convinced of the importance of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3). We highlight this in the February 2018 European Commission Communication “A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans”.

Through this, we encourage the smart approach via our “flagship initiative” Supporting Socio-economic Development. We link our measures for private sector development to Smart Specialisation. In general, all sides welcome this positively.

To follow through on the work, in DG NEAR we have put together a new EUR 2 million package to benefit from the JRC's Smart Specialisation Platform in Seville. This allows the JRC to deploy its instruments in the Western Balkans. We focus on: assessment of national/regional strategies; peer review workshops; thematic seminars, etc.

Montenegro is the pioneer in this process, having already presented a draft strategy. The other partners hope to follow as soon as possible.

In particular, we in DG NEAR are actively supporting the emergence of “ecosystems” for intra-regional cooperation in the Western Balkans between researchers, business and public sector. We partner with all actors involved: local public institutions; public research organisations; incubators and accelerators; the private sector.

We also emphasise linkages to developments in the EU. In cooperation with the JRC, we are implementing for example a EUR 1.5 million Technology Transfer action, to bridge the gap between research and innovation, building on EU good practice.

To link even more the research and private sectors, and to consolidate Smart Specialisation and smart growth in the way EU practice demonstrates, we will follow up with a Proof of Concept Grant Scheme (EUR 2 million). We plan to launch this in 2020, also with the JRC. We will link the grant scheme to the EU’s SME support platform - the Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility[1] (WB EDIF).

Example from EDIF on a partnership for innovation and smart growth

A EUR 41 million equity fund under EDIF invests in SMEs. This covers the range from seed to early stage, in innovative sectors showing high potential for growth. It has a particular focus on Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

The equity fund has invested in 22 companies to that date. For example, Agremo (Serbia) is an agricultural sensing and drone analysis platform for drone operators, growers, and agronomists. It monitors crop health, by drawing analytics from aerial imagery. The technology enables farmers to identify plant, weed and pest problems. It also help to detect diseases and identify water stress. The main area of business is South East Europe, although the company is exporting its technology at global level.

Through this work, we develop further the EU perspectives of the Western Balkans. We improve smart growth prospects for entrepreneurs and for job-seekers. Our Western Balkans partners are already advancing in this direction – they already have developed cutting-edge businesses and jobs. Our work together builds on this, bringing increased prosperity to all.

[1] Official website of WB EDIF: http://www.wbedif.eu/