With the establishment of the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU), the European Commission, along with the Bio-based Industries Consortium, pledged their continued support to the development of the bioeconomy in the European Research Area. Recognizing that the Central and Eastern European (CEE) Member States lag in this transition, while having an abundance of available biomass, the CBE JU in its SRIA formulated the objective of engaging relevant stakeholders in these countries and promote the development of the bioeconomy. The BIOEAST Initiative has recognised this effort, and created a Strategic Plan to collect and express the needs of the macro-region. The BIOEAST Strategic Plan is based on the CBE JU’s SRIA which was published in May 2022 and the document was prepared under the coordination of the BIOEAST Thematic Working Groups on „Advanced bio-based chemicals and materials” and „Bioenergy and value-added materials” with the support of the Horizon 2020 BIOEASTsUP project.
A survey was conducted, along with a national workshop organised in Hungary between July 1 and August 31 among bioeconomy stakeholders from the 11 BIOEAST countries to assess their needs and ideas. 9 priorities and 9 actions were identified to be considered during the preparation of the CBE JU’s future working programmes. The outcomes of both the survey and the national workshop point to „Feedstock” and „Communication” being the most relevant for the macro-region: stakeholders expect to benefit the most from support in the CBE JU Action areas. Stakeholders also signalled their willingness to attend intersectoral events and be actively engaged in discussions on the bioeconomy.
Moreover, the identified priorities could serve national level programming and action plan setting, aiding national decision makers in developing national level operational programmes. The BIOEAST Initiative recommends that decision makers judiciously consider the priorities and specific actions identified by this exercise. Future calls related to those priorities should require a significant participation of CEE countries in future consortia. By providing feedback to CBE JU decision makers, the BIOEAST Initiative intends to aid the partnership in maximising the impact of its support by the optimal allocation of the resources at its disposal.
You can read the Strategic Plan here.