Words or action: Can the EU’s “widening and strengthening” agenda make a difference?

The east-west research and innovation gap has been a concern since newer member states joined the EU.  A recent report of the European Court of Auditors observes that widening measures can only nudge countries in the right direction – but cannot make up for a lack of reforms and investment in lagging member states.   

Against this backdrop, several key questions arise: 

•  Are the measures in place at the EU level appropriate to bridge the east-west research and innovation gap?  
• What are the lessons learned to ensure that the next generation of scientists in central and eastern Europe are better integrated in EU programmes? 
•  How to ensure that projects are evenly distributed in the region, considering that four CEE countries absorbed 60% of all funds? 
•  What structural reforms need to happen to increase the absorption capacity of EU funds in the region? 
• How to trigger better synergies between EU funds and funds managed at national level? 
• How to ensure that funded projects deliver after showing promising initial results, such as boosting the number of scientific publications, increasing networking opportunities and facilitating access to more grant funding? 

These and other important questions will be discussed during a high-level, invitation-only dinner debate which will gather high-level representatives from central and eastern member states, EU institutions, research organisations and industry. Conclusions from the debate will be summarised during the public conference which will take place the following day.