EU Response

On 27 May, the European Commission launched a Recovery Plan for Europe, to help Member States recover from the crisis. The response is two-fold:

  • The Next Generation EU - a new recovery instrument of €750 billion which will boost the EU budget with new financing raised on the financial markets for 2021-2024
  • A reinforced long-term budget of the EU for 2021-2027

A number of instruments will be mobilized to support companies, regions, citizens and the health sector to ensure that the most crucial recovery needs of the EU Member States and their partners are tackled. 

The coronavirus pandemic has led to economic and social damage, putting at stake the livelihoods of citizens everywhere. However, the crisis has also created new opportunities and cities are now in a strategic position to effectively reconstruct their urban economies. Through the recovery plan, the European Commission aims to support countries and cities in recovering and emerging stronger from the crisis, to kick-start the economy and help private investment, and to learn the lessons of the crisis, which represent the three pillars under which investments will be channelled.

The European Commission adopted the Joint European Roadmap towards lifting COVID-19 containment measures on 15 April 2020. The roadmap establishes key principles and lists concrete recommendations Member States should consider when planning to lift containment measures.

The European Commission’s Coronavirus Response. The European Commission is coordinating a common European response to the outbreak of COVID-19. They are taking resolute action to reinforce public health sectors and mitigate the socio-economic impact in the European Union. Area’s of the Commission’s response are:

  • Public health
  • Economy
  • Travel and transportation
  • Crisis management and solidarity
  • Research and innovation
  • Education

Covid-19 Industrial Clusters Portal at the European Cluster Collaboration Platform managed by the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, that helps address the coronavirus outbreak and responds to the needs of Industry. The portal supports the efforts of industrial clusters by facilitating interaction within the industrial cluster community (companies, research organisations, makers, authorities) by providing:

  • reliable information for industry (especially industrial clusters) on actions and decisions of the European Commission and EU countries that impact the internal market
  • demand from public authorities
  • an open discussion forum where actors can share their experiences, solutions, requests and questions

3DP PAN EU is an EU-wide web based matchmaking tool connecting supply and demand in the field of 3D printing. 3DP PAN EU is a platform originally designed to map 3DP test and demonstration facilities in the EU, outlining in a detail manner the equipment and services that are available for use by third parties. In the context of the present pandemic, the scope of the platform has been extended to include 3DP production capacities too, in order to support the medical and other impacted sectors. The website now connects production offering with demand of supply chains.
 
The 3DP Pan EU project is a European Parliament pilot action managed by the European Commission.

Other useful links

Social economy in the fight against corona online page for Social Economy and civil society efforts to local quick response carried by ad-hoc solutions and social innovations:

  • Local Social Services of aid and support as a direct response to COVID19
  • Local trade continuity and stepping in for broken or 'disturbed value chains'
  • Quick response production of specific (medical) materials
  • The portal provides:
  • Collection of good practices, links and initiatives per topic: webinars, platforms, digital services, volunteer projects, Social enterprise action, funding, policy reaction, sector statements and research
  • Overview of online sessions: minutes, links and recordings. In these sessions we have invited several best practices to explain in detail their actions and support.

How can DIHs help in times of COVID-19 discussion forum at the DHI community where practical information that can help public administrations during the Covid-19 are being presented:

  • Digital solutions for smart work and administrative procedures
  • Communication and mapping tools for health and social care
  • Data analytics for following the spread and tracking
  • Applications for health monitoring
  • Cyber securing hospital environment

COVID-19 Exchange Platform managed by the European Committee of the Regions, to support regional and local communities across Europe with regular and practical information about EU actions. The exchange platform helps sharing needs and solutions, enhances mutual support and acts as a feedback mechanism to enable a reality check of the EU measures from the local and regional angle.

The platform provides three main types of support: 

  1. The exchange platform collects information on hundreds of experiences of how cities and regions are facing the challenge and supporting their business and communities. The database also includes also covers cross-border cooperation and transnational experiences. The experiences can be filtered by region, or cross-border cooperation experiences. 
  2. The Annual Regional and Local Barometer Report provides an analysis of the effects of the pandemic in different areas such as health, the economy, digital transition, or the environment among others. It also provides an overview of policy responses at EU, national, regional and local level. 
  3. The website also collects concrete proposals for action and policy initiatives. Continuous bottom-up work is needed for an inclusive and sustainable recovery, and to learn from the crisis and build more resilient communities. More policy proposals and activities can be found under the news, events and opinions sections.