European Commission

The original article is available on the DG GROW website.

The Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) is adapting its organisational structure to help Europe’s industrial ecosystems recover more effectively from the COVID-crisis and to achieve the EU’s digital and green goals.

A new focus on industrial ecosystems allows us to better design actions to help the European economy recover from the COVID pandemic. It also reflects the key role of networks, clusters and alliances in reinforcing our supply chains – helping us to strengthen Europe’s resilience in future crises

The new organisation reinforces our capacity to analyse the state of the economy in the single market. Europe is undergoing a digital and green transition in order to stay globally competitive. We want to make sure that both public and private investment contribute in the best way to economic recovery and this twin transition. We want to help all European businesses navigate this transition and ensure our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have access to opportunities across the single market. We will still prioritise innovation for our SMEs and stimulate innovation throughout all ecosystems.

We will continue to support citizens, industry, SMES and entrepreneurs to reap the benefits from a large, integrated and competitive single market. With its regulatory powers, spending programme and policy measures, DG GROW is well placed to foster opportunities and welfare for all.

The new organisational structure (PDF) is effective as of 16 March 2021.

In parallel, the executive agencies that the Commission entrusts with the implementation of spending programmes are also undergoing reform. From 1 April 2021, ‘EASME’ (The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) will become ‘EISMEA’ (European Innovation Council and SMEs) and a new agency, ‘HaDEA’ (Health and Digital) will be created.

For more information visit the DG GROW website and follow DG GROW on Twitter and Facebook.

The EU Industry days will be taking place next week from 23-26 February and be an opportunity to listen to and be involved with discussions centring around the challenges facing industry, development opportunities and policy responses.

This year’s programme will feature sessions and speakers talking about green and digital transitions and the opportunities both transitions present for EU businesses and citizens. Top speakers will include European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen, President of the European Parliament David Sassoli and Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton.  

The large variety of sessions will also feature the Pact for Skills, circular procurement, lessons learnt from the COVID crisis and several specific masterclasses and parallel sessions.

Alongside the main programme the first fully virtual EU Industry days will feature a virtual exhibition showcasing 43 EU projects. Conference participants will also have opportunities to vote for their favourite projects across categories in the #EUIndustryDays competition.

In addition to the EU Industry days, affiliated events will be taking place across Europe under the EU Industry Week.

Registration for the EU Industry days is still open and the full programme is available on the website.

The original article can be found on the EASME website.

The European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), a COSME project, has just launched the Covid-19 Industrial Clusters Response Portal to respond to and address challenges during the time of COVID-19.

What is available via the new portal?

This new ECCP portal will allow the existing industrial cluster community to come together and exchange quickly and directly. Via the portal, ECCP members will be able to share solutions, connect with others and support each other in response to COVID-19 challenges.

What are the objectives of this new portal?

This new ECCP portal provides a single point of access to information for industry on actions and decisions taken by the European Commission and the EU Member States impacting on the Internal Market. The portal also aims to facilitate an open discussion forum where actors can share their experiences, solutions, requests and questions.

What has been done so far?

• A recent call to increase production of medical supplies resulted in 1 100 offers from companies across Europe. 
• Public authority demands have been included on the portal including:
  • The public administration of Madrid needs medical material, the Madrid Automotive Cluster responded and is assisting the administration to match-up the offers and demands of the urgently needed medical material. 

How can you get involved?

You can join the community right here, and ask for help, advice or browse posted solutions on the reaction webpage. You can also join in order to offer expertise, services or advice to those in need. Join the ECCP community today!

To create an account and/or register for the updates newsletter look here.

Browse through the COVID-19 related content on the News Portal here and leave us a comment or get in touch if there are other topics you would like us to cover.

The European Commission has developed an industrial policy package to help Europe’s industry lead the twin transitions towards climate neutrality and digital leadership. The package aims to drive Europe’s competitiveness and its strategic autonomy at a time of moving geopolitical plates and increasing global competition.

The package of initiatives outlines a new approach to European industrial policy that is firmly rooted in European values and social market traditions. It sets out a range of actions to support all players of European industry, including big and small companies, innovative start-ups, research centres, service providers, suppliers and social partners. A dedicated strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) aims to reduce red tape and help Europe’s numerous SMEs to do business across the single market and beyond, access financing and help lead the way on the digital and green transitions. Today’s initiatives also include concrete steps to address barriers to a well-functioning single market, Europe’s strongest asset to allow all our businesses to grow and compete in Europe and beyond.

The industrial policy package includes the following initiatives:

• A new industrial strategy
• A new SME strategy
• A single market that delivers for our businesses and consumers

For more information read the full announcement and consult the factsheet.

The European EEPA deadline is approaching, but who will be judging all of the national entries this year? Who is responsible for creating the EEPA 2018 European shortlist? Meet your 2018 EEPA jury!

On this year’s jury we have some familiar retuning faces and some new members. This year seven jurors from different disciplines and backgrounds will collaboratively review all of the national submissions before meeting in Brussels to decide the 2018 European shortlist. In addition to coming from different backgrounds our jury members also come from across Europe so as to bring their own national contexts and expertise to the judging panel.

This year we are pleased to welcome back Prof. Thomas M. Cooney (Professor in Entrepreneurship, Dublin Institute of Technology), Thomas Wobben (Committee of the Regions), Lisa Steigertahl (Entrepreneurship Consultant) and Kristin Schreiber (DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) to once again sit on the EEPA jury.

We would also like to welcome our new jury members Jesús Casado Navarro-Rubio (Secretary General of European Family Business), Dr. Matthias Tschirf (Austrian SME Envoy), Anna van Nunen (Director of Grand Jury Prize Winner 2017 Innofest) and Alexander Manolev (Bulgarian SME Envoy).

Stay tuned to Promoting Enterprise to meet all of the new jury members over the next few weeks and be sure to read up on our veteran jury members Prof. Thomas M. Cooney, Thomas Wobben, Lisa Steigertahl and Kristin Schreiber right here on the News Portal!