On 11-12^th December Schuman Associates gave a training to the delegates of Bulgarian municipalities who came to Brussels on a special invitation of Member of European Parliament Andrey NOVAKOV.

The European Commission will invest almost €16 billion in Research and Innovation in the next two years under Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation funding scheme. The full package of 2016-2017 Work Programmes is available for downloading below, including the SME Instrument Work Programme.

The European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) initiative is a major European Union action aimed at highlighting the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe, as well as promoting greater mutual understanding among Europe's citizens. In addition to this, experience has shown that the event is an excellent opportunity for regenerating cities, raising the international profile of cities, the eyes of their own inhabitants and to boost tourism.

At the end of December 2015, the EU closed the negotiations on the new European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF 2014-2020) programmes with all 28 Member States. This marks the end of a process that last for more than 3 years of intense preparations. It also paves the way for more than 450 billion EUR to be injected in the EU economies by 2020.

The Investment Plan for Europe is one of the main initiatives of the Juncker Commission. After the official launch of the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) in Summer 2015, major infrastructure projects and investment platforms start materializing across the EU.

In February 2016 Schuman Associates Brussels Headquarters and local offices gathered together for the annual «Away Day» to share best practices, reflect on company's values and present the business strategies for 2016.  

  Winter is being a very hot season for the digitalization of Europe, a revolution that could contribute €415 billion per year to our economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.  The Digital Single Market for Europe (DSM) gave an important step in the unification of rules to strengthen fundamental rights and the European Market in December 2015 with the agreement on the reform of the Data protection rules and the first EU wide cybersecurity legislation – the Network and Information Systems Directive. The months to come will bring us the results of several public consultations reflecting the pace of technology and hinting how the infrastructure’s development should evolve: ·         Public consultation: eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 (closed 22/1/2016):  The new eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 will address the needs and expectations of European citizens and businesses with respect to the delivery of efficient and user-friendly government services in the EU....

Winter is being a very hot season for the digitalization of Europe, a revolution that could contribute €415 billion per year to our economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. The Digital Single Market for Europe (DSM) gave an important step in the unification of rules to strengthen fundamental rights and the European Market in December 2015 with the agreement on the reform of the Data protection rules and the first EU wide cybersecurity legislation – the Network and Information Systems Directive.

Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, today announced details of a joint programme with the Department of Foreign Affairs to help Irish companies compete with other European businesses for billions of European Development Funds (EDF) earmarked for projects up to 2020. The Winning Business in Africa programme is an online one-stop-shop for companies providing the information and support needed to bid on over 200 projects in Sub-Saharan countries worth €7 billion. The comprehensive database is backed up with advice and support, from funding experts Schuman Associates, for companies that want to access these contracts.

The SME Instrument under the Horizon 2020 has since its launch in 2014 attracted more than 10.000 individual applications, but only 12% of them are good enough to be considered for funding.

Jan Dröge, Partner at Schuman Associates moderated the EU Sector Seminar "PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN EU EXTERNAL ACTION PROGRAMMES" on 10th March.

Distinct from the well-known Brussels-based institutions, decentralised agencies are another important component of the European Union ecosystem. These bodies have been set up by the EU in different Member States to carry out technical, scientific or managerial tasks that help institutions make and implement policies.

Due to the high specialisation of each organisation, it is crucial to collaborate with other bodies to benefit from synergies and from  different expertise.  But how to find the right partner for the right project? This is a big challenge for every instituion involved in Horizon 2020 projects, might it be industries, research organisations, SMEs, or universities.

From connectivity and digital skills to public services, EU countries have made progress since last year which marked the launch of the Digital Single Market Strategy by the European Commission. Yes, the EU is progressing, but slowly.

Today Schuman Associates attended the info day in Madrid on second Interreg Europe call. Both, the EU Funds Unit from the Spanish Ministry of Public Affairs and the Interreg Secretariat, shared with the audience key information and advices to help Spanish participants in the process of preparation of competitive proposals for this second round.
If you are interested see below our post in Spanish.

The Commission has recently presented its long awaited list of priority initiatives for 2016. These strategic policy measures are launched in the context of the EU Work Programmes 2015 and 2016. Many of these initiatives will form the next wave of EU law  or will serve as the basis to reshape existing legislation.

By April 2016, all EU Member States must transpose into their national legislations the 3 Procurement Directives adopted by the EU in 2014 as part of the Public Procurement Reform:

1. Directive 2014/23/EU on the award of concession contracts (“Concession Directive”),
2. Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement (“Classical Directive”) and
3. Directive 2014/25/EU on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors (“Utilities Directive”).

MEP Andrey NOVAKOV and Schuman Associates

Have the pleasure to invite you to a workshop

European Fund for Strategic Investments - What's in it for Europe a year on?

23 May, 15:00 -19.00

European Parliament in Brussels

The pressure that the EU is facing to cope with the increased flow of migration from Africa has been translated in the establishment of a Trust Fund which will help targeted countries to deal with this phenomenon. The Trust Fund has three operational windows in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and Lake Chad region and the North of Africa. As of May 2016 the European Commission has approved a total of 50 projects worth over €730 million.