The JRC supports the project aiming at "Decarbonising Slovenia: A Deep Demonstration of a Circular, Regenerative and Low-Carbon Economy"

A strategic collaboration between the Joint Research Centre (JRC), EIT Climate-KIC, EIT RawMaterials and the Slovenian government around circular, regenerative and low-carbon economy supports the implementation of RIS3 and of the national vision to become a green, creative and smart country by 2030. Slovenia has decided to focus strategic economic development around circular, regenerative and low-carbon economy and to bet on sustainable technologies and services.

Following the JRC support activities in Slovenia, the Slovenian national authorities engaged into an unprecedented cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary approach with a transitional implementation process. The pilot initiative, of which  the Slovenian government took notice on 7^th of November 2019 (No: 51100-41/2019/6) comprises the governmental institutions (namely; Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning, Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance and its Managing Authority, and Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy), EIT Climate-KIC, EIT RawMaterials and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). It envisages the development of the full proposal to encompass the evolution of all economic sectors and relevant value chains into transition activities towards sustainable, innovation-driven circular economy while taking an inherently cross-sectorial, systemic perspective. Socio-economic development is fed by innovation from the national Smart Specialisation priorities and the commitments are being made by all the parts of government and the broader society to embark on the sustainable development path, notably its environmental aspect. 

At the same time the initiative will help to address some of the structural issues referred to in the Slovenian European Semester Country report. Key issues include the R&D intensity, the level of science-business cooperation, the level of internationalisation, governance and coordination, attracting foreign and domestic talents, and the degree of business support. The prospective activities follow an integrated portfolio approach and include elements that help in tackling most of those issues, in the context of creating a circular economy while it also has potential to test the implementation of a collaboration with high relevance for making the Green Deal a reality. The initiative is supported by several bilateral MoU between the partners involved. JRC supports the efficient implementation of multi-level governance, providing the related expertise and conceptualisation of lessons learnt to disseminate them beyond national borders.

This initiative would be a model for other Member States in the near future. Also, the initiative is open for other EIT KICs and EU initiatives/platforms, as well as the Commission services.*

* Please contact Nida-Kamil.OZBOLAT@ec.europa.eu if you would like to know more or contribute to this project.