Smart Regions
Smart Regions, in collaboration with Euronews, takes a tour of Europe, visiting the cities and towns where Cohesion Policy projects are reducing regional disparities and bringing real, tangible benefits to communities across the EU.
Latest episode
Smart Regions: Discover Studio Kremlin, a creative co-working in a revitalised Paris community!
Where once were smokestacks, now cameras roll. In a former industrial area near Paris a production company, Studio Kremlin, decided years ago to set up and help independent filmmakers develop their own productions. Now, their project is evolving with La Kolok (previously known as B-Movie). Studio Kremlin also aims to connect with the local community in Ivry-sur-Seine through, among other things, a food court currently under construction that will open onto a new pedestrian street. The project has been supported by the EU’s Cohesion Policy with almost €450.000.
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Past episodes
The EU-funded POWERTY project supports energy transition and poverty alleviation in Torreblanca, Seville, one of Spain's poorest neighbourhoods. Through renewable energy sources, it aims to tackle energy poverty, an issue impacting 50 million Europeans. Five European regions, including Andalusia, contribute to this initiative, enabling vulnerable communities to access affordable, sustainable energy. Torreblanca Ilumina, a local association, installed donated solar panels on two public schools, generating 15 kilowatts of energy used in classrooms and homes. This small but significant effort not only reduces energy costs but also raises environmental awareness among students. María Ángeles García Arévalo, a resident, reports noticeable savings on her electricity bills, reducing her financial burden. Supported by a €1.3 million budget from the EU Cohesion Policy and local partners (via the Interreg Europe programme), POWERTY has shared over fifty best practices across regions, gaining international recognition for its impactful community-based energy solutions.”
The historic Belgian city of Ghent is home to a unique co-working space and high tech/arts innovation centre that draws heavily on its architectural heritage as a former circus venue. Out of the total project costs, about €1.4 million comes from EU funds. Wintercircus, a former circus, gives a stage to creators and tech innovators. 40 cutting-edge startups work in this inspiring space. The space is bringing arts, culture, music and innovation together to create a unique environment.
REXDAN, a multidisciplinary European research project with laboratories on land and on board of this ship, which is the largest of its kind in continental European waterways, is to protect the biodiversity and to examine the impact of human activities on the delicate river ecosystem. It aims to keep the Danube’s waters safe from and safe for humans. In international waters between Ukraine, Moldova and Romania a group of Romanian researchers are taking samples that are analysed in 9 laboratories. Discover this episode of Smart Regions aiming to protect the Danube!
People travel to the Alps to improve their health. Why? Nature is accessible, generous, varied and healing for sick people. The concept, developed by doctors at the Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg, Austria, makes tourism rhyme with health.
In the Netherlands, a company has produced an electrolyser that stores renewable energy in a battery to generate emission-free electricity. This electrolyser is called “Battolyser®” and for its development the company has received a grant of €2 million from the EU’s Just Transition Fund.
Invented at a Dutch university, the Battolyser® is fed by renewables like wind and solar. Clean tech companies are in the frontline of Europe’s efforts to become carbon neutral by 2050. Discover the latest episode of Smart Regions!
The city of Pilsen has transformed a historic brewery into one of the most modern technology parks in the Czech Republic. Known as TechTower, the park offers facilities and offices for innovative companies, technology enthusiasts, programmers and start-up entrepreneurs. The TechTower project cost almost €26 million. About €7 million of that funding came from the European Cohesion Policy. In addition to its multifunctional events hall, the building's 10,000 square metres is home to offices, coworking spaces, and other facilities.
Climate change is making natural disasters across the European Union more frequent and intense.
In the last five years, wildfires in Spain and Portugal have devastated nearly one million hectares of land. Managed from an Emergency Center in Galicia, this Spanish region together with Castilla y León and the North of Portugal have created an emergency plan to prevent and respond to major disasters such as floods, heavy storms, and wildfires. The project aims to benefit some 600.000 people. With the new project underway, coordinated communications, training and new technology equipment will now allow Spain and Portugal to join forces when an emergency strikes. The Cohesion Policy Fund provided 75% of the €4m ARIEM+ budget, while the rest was funded by the regions of Galicia, Castilla y León and the North of Portugal.
Thanks to EU funds, a range of historical archives in Cyprus and the North Aegean region are being preserved.
As part of the project “ Digital Herodotus II”, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporations have rescued over 10,000 broadcast and other files of unique historical value and digitised them into an open access database. The Digital Herodotus platform hosts 20% of the total archive of the national television station and also includes more than half a million pages from local newspapers. Almost 329,000 people have visited the platform since 2019. The project has received funding of more than €850,000 from the Interreg Greece-Cyprus programme.
Pumps consuming high energy are controlling the water level of Europe’s rivers and canals. Hydraulic researchers at the University of Liège and thermodynamic laboratory in Belgium are working on ways to save energy in the management of the river routes. The researchers have developed a test bench which enables submersible pumps to be tested in almost real conditions, which would allow to reduce Co2 emissions. The project has been support by the Interreg North-West Europe programme with €1.6 million.
Thanks to the “Port Activity App”, the Baltic ports of Rauma (Finland) and Gävle (Sweden) implement efficient port calls using real-time information. The app is part of the Interreg project “Efficient Flow”. Improved traffic flow converts unsafe waiting times into bunker savings for large ships in the narrow Swedish and Finnish archipelagos. The more efficient system allows to significantly cut carbon emissions. The project has been supported by the Interreg Central Baltic programme. Discover the latest episode of Smart Region which reduces carbon emissions by reducing the waiting times of large ships.
The device can save lives. For example, if skin melanoma are detected at an early stage, the survival chance of the patient is almost 100%, whereas the chance is less than 5% if they are detected at one of the last stages. Beating cancer is one of the priorities of the European Health Union.
85% percent of the €645,000 total project costs have been co-financed by the EU's Cohesion Policy.
The fight against climate change is gaining momentum in Hungary. The city of Szeged is home to EU’s largest geothermal energy system, thanks to support from EU cohesion policy. The aim is to reduce gas by around 50%, increasing Hungary's energy independence. The heating system provides clean, renewable, and affordable energy to over 28,000 households and over 400 public buildings in the area. The construction of the heating system was supported by the EU's Cohesion policy with around €23 million.
Watch the latest episode of Smart Regions to discover how the energy transition is advancing in Hungary!
The “Técnico Innovation Centre” in Lisbon is an infrastructure for the development and transfer of technology, which rehabilitates and requalifies the old buildings left over from the Arco do Cego bus station.
The team of architects from the Técnico Innovation Centre who headed this project opted for materials and bioclimatic designs that would boost the building’s energy efficiency. The innovation centre will have a study area open 24 hours a day, an exhibition space, a cafeteria and restaurant space, auditoriums and an advanced first aid station.
The EU-funded project “REDACt” (Rapid Earthquake Damage Consortium) helps countries bordering the Black Sea respond more efficiently to earthquakes. Thanks to the project, partner countries can coordinate disaster prevention and mitigation strategies which can save lives and prevent damage to critical infrastructure. REDACt's objective is for partner countries to go beyond existing practices, coordinate their responses and improve early warning systems. Partner countries use the same methodology when monitoring tremours. The project has been supported by the Interreg Black Sea Basin cooperation programme with more than €896,000.
Reproductive challenges affect some 25% of couples in Scandinavia. An EU funded project is working to tackle this challenge. Copenhagen University Hospital and Skåne University Hospital are leading a projected to help 5,000 people in Denmark and Sweden who are struggling to conceive naturally over the next five to eight years. The project has been supported by the EU’s Cohesion Policy through the Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak programme with more than 7 million €. Have a look at this episode of Smart Regions about an EU project which is all about bringing new life on our planet!
The ancient town of Ptuj, in northeastern Slovenia, has been transformed in recent years and is enjoying a new lease of life! And this partly thanks to funds dedicated by the European Union . An old glass factory has been transformed into a culture and arts centre called “Old glass workshop” which gives the city a modern, fully equipped space used as a gathering place especially for young people allowing them to unleash their creativity. During excavations, the architects found historic pebbles and a fountain. The pebbles have been reused by the architect for the renovation works. The project has received support from the European Regional Development Fund of €2.2 million.
Discover how the EU’s cohesion policy has breathed life back into the medieval town of Ptuj!
The IDMAR is Europe's largest underwater telescope, supported by the EU’s Cohesion policy with about €19 million. Its aim is to upgrade the sea research infrastructures in Sicily. Its spherical underwater nodes are able to look and listen out for what's happening in the Mediterranean, transmitting valuable information in real time. IDMAR can not only shine a light on underwater marine life, but it can also help researchers to photograph and map seismic zones and discover the origin of cosmic rays.
Watch the latest episode of Smart Regions showing how Sicily's underwater laboratory could help us better understand the origins of our universe.
Boekel is a self-sufficient eco-village with climate-positive houses made of sustainable material (such as hemp) and a testing ground for all kind of innovations such as the César heating system. The system stores the energy produced by the ecovillage’s 600 solar panels. The ecovillage has won several awards for the sustainability of its buildings and it’s leading the way on the path towards a greener future. The project has been supported by the EU’s cohesion policy with about €1 million. Watch the latest episode of Smart Regions showing how communities can become more resilient and climate-friendly in the future!