Search

The sixth issue of the European 5G Annual Journal has been released.

The Commission has released the European Innovation Scoreboard 2021, which shows that Europe's innovation performance continues to improve across the EU. On average, innovation performance has increased by 12.5% since 2014. There is continued convergence within the EU, with lower performing countries growing faster than higher performing ones, therefore closing the innovation gap among them.

The targeted consultation ran from 11 February until 30 April 2021 and was addressed to a variety of stakeholders.

The European Research and Innovation Days 2021 take place this week on 23 and 24 June. Since COVID19 struck more than a year ago, innovation and access to digital tools for education and training have become important priorities across Europe and offered new opportunities for the EdTech sector.

On 17 June 2021 an on-line information meeting provided the latest updates to the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) Work Programme and the upcoming evaluations to the representatives of Member States. We took the opportunity to have an informal dialogue on the situation in the various countries.
Several Member States expressed their concerns related to the uncertainties on the co-funding mechanisms and to the delays in the approval of the workprogramme.

In rural Latvia, an EU-funded start-up is using digital connectivity to promote healthy bee colonies and modern hive management. Thanks to €15,000 in LEADER funding covering two thirds of the total budget, Jānis Kronbergs developed the BeeKing app, which aims to help beekeepers – and especially newcomers – to learn from others, implement best practices and become more efficient. In this video, he explains the tool as well as its motivation, saying that “bees are very important for our nature, for pollination and biodiversity” and digital technologies can help beekeepers stay competitive.

“Spain is the first European country to develop a broadband scheme for grey areas with a geographical scope covering all the nation” states Elena Galindo from Spain’s Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, in this video. Ms Galindo, representing Spain’s national Broadband Competence Office, explains that the scheme is needed as approximately “8-10% of the population living in isolated rural and remote areas could not be covered with fast broadband”. It aims to cover 3.5 million people, of which 430,000 in grey areas, with minimum speeds of 300 Mbps symmetrical, upgradeable to 1 Gbps.

The Farm Advisory System makes innovative knowledge and practices accessible to all farmers. “We are facing a major transformation of the agricultural sector that requires a shift towards more environmentally-friendly practices without undermining economic sustainability” explains Tassos Haniotis, Director of Strategy, Simplification and Policy Analysis in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Digitalisation and rural broadband are crucial, enhancing knowledge exchange and creating multiplier effects, such as new jobs and services in rural areas.

“In our journey to digital maturity, affordable high-speed broadband is key for a dynamic digital economy and an accessible and inclusive digital society” states Stelios Himonas of Cyprus’ Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy. Only 2.7% of households in Cyprus, however, have fixed connections above 100 Mbps. In this video, Mr Himonas explains how Cyprus implemented a ‘good practice’ voucher scheme, inspired by the European Broadband Competence Offices Network. By reducing the cost of access for end users, the scheme successfully stimulated take-up by around 3,000 households.

The Commission published a Communication on the 'Long term vision for rural areas' by 2040, noting connectivity as a key element in revitalising local communities.