Kiri

Dear Mr. Riisalo, dear Minister:

It's my pleasure to contact you upon suggestion from of Diego Villalba, Deputy Head of Unit - Spain at DG REGIO, who indicated Estonia as an example of good management in the use of Cohesion Funds, specifically when it comes to the field of innovation.

As JRC we are developing a capacity building activity framed in the context of an European Union Preparatory Action funded by the European Parliament on the topic of: “Innovation for place-based transformation”.

In this context, we are conducting a pilot activity with the Region of Andalusia (Spain). Within it, we are supporting them in coordinating a study visit so they can learn about good practices in the management of the Cohesion Fund in Europe. The goal of the visit is to exchange views with Structural Fund managers in regions that are at the forefront of innovation policies in Europe.

We believe that the good practices developed by Estonia  are an excellent model that can be disseminated to other regions across the EU. Therefore, we kindly request your collaboration in sharing your acquired knowledge with territories that are still developing.

Andalusia is a less developed region, classified as a moderate innovator in the RIM. The region has historically benefited greatly from European cohesion policy. However, despite the important progress the region has made thanks to the impact of these funds, Andalusia considers that it needs to strengthen its performance in business development and innovation. The Junta of Andalusia is  aware that there are countries in Europe, like  Estonia that invest their ERDF, ESF and JTF in very effective ways in terms of business development and innovation; they expressed the desire to learn more how Finland implement such instruments, procedures and functions and to meet with the colleagues who manage them.  

After engaging with our colleagues at DG REGIO, we believe that Estonia potentially serve as a model for effective management of Cohesion Funds.

We would greatly appreciate your cooperation in proposing and developing an itinerary for a study visit to Estonia. This would allow Andalusian officials to learn about new approaches to using Cohesion Policy funds, which they could potentially apply in their own region.

Thank you in advance for your interest.

Yours sincerely.

Carlos TORRECILLA SALINAS

Head of Unit
 

European Commission
Joint Research Centre
Unit B7 – Innovation policies and economic impact

41092 Sevilla, Spain

Office: Edificio EXPO, C/ Inca Garcilaso, 3
Tel: +34 854590288
e-mail: carlos.torrecilla-salinas@ec.europa.eu

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