Pažnja: Sadržaj ove stranice je dio arhivskog sadržaja i odnosi se na prethodne sazive Vlade Crne Gore. Moguće je da su informacije zastarjele ili nerelevantne.
Arhiva

Brussels: Minister Damjanović meets Jean-Eric Paquet, newly appointed Director-General of DG Research and Innovation

Objavljeno: 13.06.2018. 14:08 Autor: Ministry of Science
Ministry of Science Ministry of Science

Minister of Science Dr. Sanja Damjanović is in Brussels today, where she met with Jean-Eric Paquet, the newly appointed Director-General of DG Research and Innovation. At the meeting, the possibilities for financing the South-East European International Institute for Sustainable Technologies (SEEIIST) were discussed.

Minister Damjanović took the opportunity to inform Mr. Paquet about the activities undertaken to date in establishing the initiative, pointing out that in the previous year, especially since October 2017, a number of results had been achieved on strengthening the idea and transforming it into a regional project. Damjanović particularly emphasized the support and readiness of the Government of Montenegro to accept the idea as an exceptional generator of development of the entire region, not only in the field of science, but also in economy.
In addition, Minister Damjanović pointed out that the region of the Western Balkans had an excellent research past and tradition, and that the Institute was the best possible way to rebuild that past.

- One of the biggest problems of our region is talent outflow. For decades, we have been unable to retain the best among the best in our countries because the region does not have the so-called “first class research”, nor does it possess a state-of-the-art research infrastructure that would enable scientists to work in the same conditions as their colleagues abroad. This project can change the situation, not only retaining the existing talents, but also bringing back a large number of those who have left the region. In this way, we would solve multiple problems of ours, as well as some of the major challenges of the EU, reducing the presently rather apparent gap between the Western Balkans and the rest of Europe, Minister Damjanović said.

Director-General of DG Research and Innovation Jean-Eric Paquet emphasized that he was aware of the problems that the Balkan region had been facing for decades, especially given the fact that he had spent some time in the Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, as the Director for Western Balkans.

- This is a great project and I heard a lot about it from my colleagues, including my predecessor, Robert-Jan Smits. I am therefore ready to help find a way to finance this initiative, Paquet said.

In addition to Minister Damjanović, the meeting was also attended by Professor Herwig Schopper, former Director-General of CERN and the initiator of the SEEIST idea, as well as Roy Aleksan, Project Coordinator of the TIARA Consortium, one of the largest and most successful consortia in H2020, and Ambassador Bojan Šarkić.

As a person with valuable experience in EU projects, Prof. Roy Aleksan pointed out that the financing segment in 2019 was crucial for the project. As a solution, he suggested the financing of the project to take place through EU calls for research infrastructure, as well as that initial funds are provided to cover the gap until the call for research infrastructure is finalized. Aleksan also provided a number of examples that the EU can follow and which it had applied to similar projects in the past.

Professor Herwig Schopper emphasized in his address the particular importance of the present moment because he thought that the project had really succeeded in properly animating the scientific and the political community.

- Hadron cancer therapy has been unanimously chosen by the region as the option for the future Institute and now is the right moment for EU to recognize the efforts made so far, Schopper said.

Director Paquet agreed with the above points and promised at the meeting that he would utilize the coming period to have a series of necessary discussions with colleagues from other sectors, in order to find a way for the initiative to advance.

After the meeting with Director Paquet, Minister Damjanović met with Thomas Hagleitner, Head of the Unit for Montenegro in the Directorate-General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. At this meeting, the possibility of financing the project through IPA structure was considered, with particular emphasis on the regional IPA component.

Later today, Minister Damjanović will also meet with the Director-General of the Joint Research Centre, an institution that currently supports Montenegro in the establishment of the Smart Specialization Strategy.
Da li vam je sadržaj ove stranice bio od koristi?