Author: Jon Larrachea Coscarat

• Between June 6-9, the European Parliament elections will take place, marking the beginning of the EU’s tenth mandate

• The EU Recovery Fund and the European Green Deal have been the focus of most efforts by European leaders

This week, the last plenary session of the IX legislature of the European Union is being held in Strasbourg (France), a legislature marked by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic consequences of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. It’s time to take stock of the main policies that the Union has promoted over the last five years, and the Finnova Foundation, committed to European financing, wants to provide a brief summary of the main lines of action driven by the 27.

European Green Deal: Fighting climate change is one of the Union’s priorities, and the European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is the spearhead of the European project in this area. The deal establishes measures to make the European Union climate-neutral by 2050, including measures to promote biodiversity, circular economy, and sustainable agriculture, among others. Its main focuses include emission reduction, transition to renewable energies, promotion of sustainable mobility, and biodiversity protection.

European Union Recovery Fund (NEXT GENERATION EU): Approved in 2020 in response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this €750 billion fund supports economic recovery and resilience in the EU. It finances projects that bet on the green and digital transition, as well as structural reforms to boost the economy and employment, with the aim of achieving sustainable and equitable recovery.

EU Circular Economy Action Plan: Approved in 2020, it promotes sustainable economic practices in the EU, reducing resource use, promoting recycling and reuse, and addressing the issue of plastic waste. This plan aims to transform the economy towards a circular model, minimizing waste and protecting the environment.

EU Hydrogen Strategy: Approved in 2020, it promotes the use of hydrogen as a clean and renewable energy source in Europe. It establishes measures for the development, distribution, and use of green and low-carbon hydrogen, contributing to decarbonization and climate neutrality goals by 2050.

European Union Artificial Intelligence Act: In force since 2021, it establishes rules to regulate the development and use of artificial intelligence. It includes security and transparency measures, prohibits practices that violate fundamental rights, imposes stricter requirements for high-risk systems, and establishes supervision and sanctions in case of non-compliance. Its aim is to promote ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence in Europe.

Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act: Approved in 2022, they regulate the digital market in the EU. The Digital Services Act sets standards for online platforms, promoting transparency and user protection, while the Digital Markets Act ensures fair competition, especially for large tech companies, promoting a safer and more transparent digital environment.

Finnova is committed to continuing its work aligned with European values with a clear focus on promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development. The Foundation carries out its activities with the main aim of promoting projects and programs that contribute to economic and social growth, as well as job creation, through the application of new technologies and innovative business models.

The Finnova Foundation has a close relationship with the EU, managing European projects in areas such as innovation and sustainable development, providing advice and support to participate in Union financing programs, and promoting European policies and objectives at the local and regional levels. As a partner in LIFE, HORIZON, ERASMUS+, INTERREG, and COSME projects, it contributes to the implementation of EU policies and programs, fostering cooperation and development in different sectors.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship at EU level. Based in Brussels, it operates through collaborations and partnerships in all EU countries. Finnova’s expertise in leading European project communication and dissemination activities is combined with a strong proven track record in start-ups and business support programmes, such as accelerators, incubators and ceremonial event selection and awarding.

• An event to reinforce the strategic collaboration between leading industrial regions in Europe
• Juanma Revuelta, CEO of the Foundation, presented the Industrial Water SEUA, to face the challenge of industrial water in Lombardy and Valencia

02/04/2023, Brussels. Finnova Foundation participated in the event “Clusters meet Regions”, which took place in Milan (Italy) on March 26th and 27th, 2024. The event, organized by the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) on behalf of the European Commission and in collaboration with Cluster Afil and Regione Lombardia, brought together institutional and regional authorities from Italy and the rest of Europe, cluster managers, entrepreneurs and academics for two days to promote industrial development in the regions and encourage the exchange of knowledge.

The conference, entitled “Twin Transition: Italian ecosystems and the European agenda for sustainability”, aimed to present innovative models and strategic choices adopted by different Italian and European regions, and to establish interregional collaborations.

The role of Finnova Foundation

During the event, Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation, met with the regional secretary of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Valencian Community, Felipe Carrasco, and with the secretary of International Relations of the Lombardy region, Raffaele Cattaneo, to deepen cooperation in strategic sectors and industrial partnerships.

He also had the opportunity to present the methodology of the Startup Europe Awards (SEUA), highlighting its role as a crucial tool in fostering public-private collaboration and promoting innovation to boost the success of startups and SMEs. In this line, the event served as a platform for the official launch of the Industrial Waste Water SEUA, a challenge focused on industrial water management in collaboration with the Valencian Community and the Lombardy region. The initiative seeks to attract innovations and offer sustainable solutions to the challenges facing industrialization and water management in both regions, especially in the fields of agri-food, fashion/textile, ceramics and automotive, 4 crucial sectors for both regions.

Finnova’s projects in the Twin Transition framework

During his participation, Juanma Revuelta highlighted the work of Finnova Foundation in different projects that reflect the Foundation’s commitment to green and digital transition in Europe.

RES4CITY, within the framework of the Horizon Europe program, with a budget of 2.5 million euros, aims to promote the development of sustainable renewable energy and fuel technologies in cities. Within this project, the RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON idea accelerator proposes solutions in efficient mobility, land management, green hydrogen production and grey water reuse.

LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 under the LIFE program, with a budget of 970,000 euros, aims to generate biogas in sewage treatment plant digesters by mixing organic waste, achieving environmental and economic benefits through the optimal use of waste.

Another of the projects related to environmental care is ONE-BLUE, from the Horizon Europe program. With a budget of 6.2 million euros, it will improve knowledge about the effects of pollutants in different marine ecosystems.

Finally, MANUFACTURING4ALL, under the Erasmus+ program, with a budget of 60,000 euros, aims to transform small municipalities through digital education and entrepreneurship.

The event served as a space for the promotion of sustainable innovation and interregional and international collaboration, marking a step forward in the green and digital transition in Europe. The initiative reinforces the importance of working together to overcome global challenges, thus supporting the dual green and digital transition to a more sustainable and technologically advanced future.

About Finnova Foundation

Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels, which focuses on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the European Union. The foundation works in collaboration with various organizations and partners in the member countries to communicate and disseminate European projects. In addition, it offers support to start-ups and businesses through programs such as accelerators and incubators, and selection and award ceremonial events.

• The webinar focused on the ABANCA-ASTROC case, which was the first real estate stock market shock of the collapse of the real estate bubble in 2008
• The webinar was held in the framework of Global Money Week, an event organised by the OECD
  
  

26/03/2024, Brussels. Last Friday 22 March, the webinar “Youth Movement, second chance Directive against toxic banking products: ABANCA-ASTROC case study” took place in the framework of the Global Money Week, organized by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). This initiative, which celebrated its twelfth edition during the week of 18-24 March, is an annual global awareness-raising campaign on the importance of ensuring that young people are financially aware and gradually acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to make sound decisions about their finances.

With the aim of contributing to provide a better understanding of financial aspects, the webinar analysed the case of ABANCA-Inmobiliaria ASTROC to understand the legal aspects, tools and resources of the Second Chance Directive 2019/1023. This case is considered the beginning of the collapse of the real estate bubble in Spain, when in April 2007, the real estate company collapsed on the stock market and dragged down other securities in the sector. Precisely, the CEO of the Finnova Foundation and lawyer in the field of lobbying and advocacy Juanma Revuelta welcomed the 60 people attending the webinar, stressing the importance of this case for businessmen, entrepreneurs and young people. The Second Chance Directive is a tool that gives bona fide bankrupts the opportunity to get a fresh start.

The seminar was followed by the participation of the lawyer, economist, mediator and API Salvador Ibañez and the lawyer and Data Protector Officer-GDPO Compliance Paul-Alexandre Janssens, who detailed the scope and legal aspects of the Second Chance Directive 2019/1023 in Spain and Belgium, respectively. Ibáñez pointed out the incorrect and late transposition of this directive by Spain, although he wanted to highlight that it is having positive effects in a short period of time. Janssens, for his part, emphasised the transposition of the Directive in the Belgian legal system.

These interventions served to learn about the reality of this Directive at first hand in both countries and to be able to establish a true comparison between the two cases.

Then, Teresa Ibáñez, a lawyer specialising in insolvency and real estate law, mediator and API, took the floor to talk about the damage caused to people who have gone bankrupt when they find themselves in this situation. Ibáñez focused her speech onthe negative effects that people suffer when they are involved in the situations described above.

This was followed by interventions from the young team of the Finnova Foundation. Social worker, sociologist and political scientist Rocío Muñoz de Viguera spoke about the social impact of insolvency on bona fide bankrupts, stressing the importance of having a good support network. After this analysis, the assistant of the legal department and specialist in sustainable development and global co-governance Roger Bellido and Carla Vizcarro, also a member of the legal department of the foundation and specialised in cases of toxic banking products, detailed the importance for young people of knowing about these types of directives, which provide a safety net for new entrepreneurs.

To conclude the event, Juanma Revuelta took the floor to recap the key points of the webinar and reminded the audience of the need to disseminate and support initiatives that facilitate entrepreneurship, especially young entrepreneurship.

About the Finnova Foundation

Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels, which focuses on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the European Union. The foundation works in collaboration with various organisations and partners in the member countries to communicate and disseminate European projects. In addition, it offers support to start-ups and businesses through programmes such as accelerators and incubators, and selection and award ceremonial events.

• Finnova Foundation joins this celebration that focuses on the importance of water, a vital agent for the preservation of the environment and biodiversity.
• ONE-BLUE, LIFE ECOdigestion and RES4CITY, projects committed to water care and management

22/03/2024, Brussels. Today marks World Water Day, an emblematic date that reminds us of the importance of preserving and responsibly managing our water resources for future generations. In this context, Finnova Foundation focuses on water as a vital agent for the preservation of the environment and biodiversity. Finnova is a partner in several European projects that focus on the protection of water from pollutants, the protection of coasts from rising seas and the sustainable use of water.

One of the outstanding projects in which the Finnova Foundation is involved is ONE-BLUE, a research initiative funded by the Horizon Europe program of the European Union. With a budget of more than €6,200,000, ONE-BLUE focuses on research into the impact of emerging pollutants and the effects of climate change on marine biodiversity, thus contributing to the understanding and preservation of our aquatic ecosystems.

The other project with funding from the Horizon program in which Finnova participates is RES4CITY, focused on the development of sustainable urban environments. With a budget of 2.5 million euros, RES4CITY promotes the use of renewable technologies and fuels in cities, thus boosting sustainability and circularity in the urban environment. Within the RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON initiative, framed within the project, solutions will be proposed for the reuse of gray water, practices that contribute to saving drinking water and reducing the impact of climate change.

LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0 generates biogas from mixed organic waste, transforming sewage sludge into green energy and helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project has a budget of €970,000 and is funded by the LIFE program , the European Union’s instrument for the environment and climate action.

The main objective of the LIFE COSTAdapta project is to address the adaptation of the coast of Gran Canaria to sea level rise through an innovative and progressivetidal pool-reef system. This project is also supported by the LIFE program, and is budgeted at 3,409,864 €.

From the Finnova Foundation we are committed to building a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future, World Water Day is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of this resource and to collaborate to preserve it for future generations. Finnova reaffirms its commitment to continue working on projects that promote sustainability and water conservation, thus contributing to a more prosperous and equitable future for all.

About the Finnova Foundation

Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels, which focuses on fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the European Union. The foundation works in collaboration with various organizations and partners in the member countries to communicate and disseminate European projects. In addition, it offers support to start-ups and businesses through programs such as accelerators and incubators, and selection and award ceremonial events.

• The Finnova Foundation has presented several projects related to the circular economy and the environment at the SMART AGRIFOOD SUMMIT fair in Seville.
•  In addition to presenting the LIFE NextFUMIGREEN, HIBA+ and RES4CITY projects, it has also informed about the dates of the new calls for the Interreg Next Med and SUDOE programmes.

18/03/2024, Brussels. The Finnova Foundation presented the LIFE NextFUMIGREEN project on Friday 15 March, during the 7th edition of the Smart Agrifood Summit that took place on 14 and 15 March in Seville. This is the largest event on innovation and digitisation of the agrifood chain in Europe organised by the European Foundation for Innovation and Technology (INTEC).

The CEO of the Finnova Foundation, Juanma Revuelta, presented the objectives of LIFE NextFUMIGREEN, a European project that seeks to develop natural fumigants from plant extracts to control whitefly populations and fungal outbreaks of botrytis in horticultural greenhouse crops. With a total budget of 2,758,921.01 euros, the LIFE NextFUMIGREEN project has 3 main objectives to align its activity with environmental protection. 

The technical objective is based on fine-tuning the methodology for the formulation and development of natural fumigants to combat pest populations.

As for the commercial objective, the idea is to initiate a line of business in the agricultural sector through the introduction of two sustainable products with proven efficacy, which currently do not exist on the market.

 And with regard to environmental objectives, the aim is to develop two fumigants with insecticidal and fungicidal efficacy in line with European “zero waste” product policies.

Commitment to the circular economy and the environment

The CEO of the Foundation highlighted Finnova’s commitment to projects related to the circular economy and care for the environment, and gave the example of the HIBA+ and RES4CITY projects, in which the entity participates. 

The HIBA+ project, financed by the Interreg VI-A Spain Portugal 2021-2027 Cross-border Cooperation Programme – POCTEP through the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) with a budget of 2,845,222.77 €, focuses on promoting sustainable growth and innovation in the agri-food sector. 

The RES4CITY project, funded by the Horizon Europe programme with a budget of €2.5 million, focuses on training support for the development of sustainable environments in urban areas. In addition, its RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON programme provides solutions to existing challenges in land management and greywater reuse for the urban economy.  

The foundation will also use this space to present LIFE ECODIGESTION 2.0, a project that generates biogas by mixing organic waste. This action favours the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the use of sewage sludge generated in wastewater treatment processes, achieving a positive environmental impact. The initiative is part of the European Union’s LIFE programme and has a budget of €970,000. 

Thanks to this technology, it favours the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the use of sewage sludge generated in wastewater treatment processes, achieving a positive environmental impact. This programme is easily scalable with other funds such as FEDER, NextGenerationEU or Repower EU.

To conclude his presentation, the CEO of the Finnova Foundation wanted to underline the importance of using European funds to support innovative projects that are committed to the ecological transition and the circular economy. At this point, Revuelta took the opportunity to announce the next calls for proposals related to the Interreg Next Med and SUDOE programmes, calls that will allow the financing of innovative European projects.

About LIFE NextFUMIGREEN

The European project LIFE NextFUMIGREEN actively promotes food safety by developing natural fumigants from plant extracts to control pests in intensive horticultural crops under glass. With the leadership of Fumihogar and with the collaboration of the Foundation for Agricultural Auxiliary Technologies, the Finnova Foundation, B&B Asesores Auditores Ambientales, Comercial Quimica Masso and BrioAgro Tech, the project has a total budget of 2,758,921.01 €, 60% subsidised by the LIFE Programme.

About the Finnova Foundation

Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels, which focuses on promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the European Union. The foundation works in collaboration with various organizations and partners in the member countries to communicate and spread European projects. In addition, it offers support to start-ups and businesses through programs such as accelerators and incubators, and selection and award ceremonial events.

• The aim of the event has been the dissemination of the latest developments in AI legislation and its impact on citizens
• Finnova Foundation, partner of the LivAI project, committed to the ethical use of artificial intelligence
07/03/2023, Brussels. Finnova foundation attended last Tuesday March 5th the “Forum on Legal Guarantees for the implementation of the European Artificial Intelligence regulation”, held at the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels (Belgium). Our colleagues from the European projects department Roger Bellido, Renata Luduvice and Diego Correro had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the latest developments in legislation related to the use and application of artificial intelligence proposed by the EU.
The event aimed to disseminate and inform about the process that has been followed in the development of the regulation for AI, its evaluation as a first common legal framework, as well as the guarantees that the application of the regulation implies for the rights of citizens. Among the speakers at the meeting were the director of the legal department of the European Commission, Alberto de Gregorio Merino, and the MEPs Adrián Vázquez Lazara and Juan Fernando López Aguilar. The forum was attended by stakeholders interested in AI legislation in the EU, from European affairs consultancies and representatives of the media sector, to employees of the Spanish Association of Registrars, among others.
Finnova, committed to AI ethics
This has been a presentation of great interest for the team of our foundation, since the legislation and regulation of AI is a topic that is on the agenda of the European agenda. In addition, this cutting-edge regulation aims to be a globally replicable model, being the first regulation at regional level on artificial intelligence. This regulation is focused on the technological and ethical development of artificial intelligence, establishing limits that do not violate fundamental rights and security.
From Finnova Foundation, as partners of LivAI project focused on the ethical approach to AI and the use of data, we strongly believe in this type of initiatives in order to regulate the revolution that the expansion of AI is bringing to our society. With a budget of 250,000 euros from the Erasmus+ program, the project aims to improve digital skills and the ethical use of AI in adults. It is led by Universitat Jaume I (Spain) in collaboration with Finnova Foundation (Belgium), Konnektable Technologies Ltd (Ireland), EFCoCert (Switzerland), Project Consult (Italy) and UBITECH (Greece).

• The webinar will be held at the European Parliament, within the event “Innovate4change: Transforming Societal Challenges through Social Entrepreneurship”
• The webinar will be used to present the RES4CITY Accelerathon and to answer any questions that may arise

15/02/2024, Brussels. Next Tuesday, February 20th at 12:40 pm (CET) the RES4CITY Startup Europe Accelerathon hybrid webinar will be held from the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels (Belgium). The webinar will be held as part of the event “Innovate4Change: Transforming Societal Challenges through Social Entrepreneurship”, organized by the European project LADESE.   

The webinar will serve to present the Accelerathon and resolve any doubts that may arise regarding its development or the challenges posed. This way, those interested will be able to have more information before the registration deadline on Wednesday, March 6th at 23:00 (CET). The CEO of the Finnova Foundation, Juanma Revuelta, will be in charge of presenting the RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON. The head of European projects of the Foundation, Patricia Tejada, and the European projects assistant, Laura Velasco, will develop the main activities of the Accelerathon. 

The main objective of the RES4CITY Startup Europe Accelerathon is to promote initiatives to address social challenges through social entrepreneurship. RES4CITY Startup Europe Accelerathon employs an innovative project acceleration methodology that drives solutions and funding for these ideas through an open innovation competition focused on promoting circularity in urban environments. 

The Accelerathon is an online competition with training, mentoring and a European acceleration ticket to access European funding programs. The ideas to be developed during the Accelerathon will have to pose solutions that seek to solve one of the following challenges:

• Optimize electric vehicle charging efficiency through smart energy solutions
• Achieve efficient land and soil management by changing business operations in line with the principles of the circular economy
• Designing green hydrogen production projects
• Revalorization of greywater in the urban environment

The Accelerathon is part of the European RES4CITY project, an innovative 2.5 million euro educational project funded 100% by the European Commission through the Horizon Europe Program. RES4CITY brings together 17 partners from eight countries, including the presence of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the leading UN training body providing innovative learning solutions to individuals, organizations and institutions to improve global decision-making and support country-level action to shape a better future. Project partners include Maynooth University and Tipperary Energy Agency in Ireland, University of Genoa, University of Sassari and Artemat in Italy, University of Coimbra in Portugal, Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain, the Technical University of Denmark, Grenoble Alpes University and Three o’clock in France, WiTEC and Halmstad University in Sweden, Finnova in Belgium and Global Hope Network International in Switzerland complete the list of beneficiaries of this European project. 

About Finnova Foundation  

Finnova is a foundation working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship at EU level. Based in Brussels, it operates through collaborations and partnerships in all EU countries. Finnova’s experience in leading European project communication and dissemination activities is combined with a strong proven track record in programs supporting start-ups and businesses, such as accelerators, incubators and selection and adjudication of ceremonial events.