[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/12072\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EThe bottom-up Brussels green revolution \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the EU and Belgian capital Brussels, Barbara Trachte reflects the strengths of a third governmental layer in Europe: its numerous regions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETrachte is secretary of state of the Brussels-Capital Region responsible for the economic transition and scientific research. The first member of Belgium\u2019s French-speaking Green party to be put in charge of an economic portfolio, she shows the scope for bottom-up EU policy changes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESetting an example\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETrachte helped put in place a Brussels law that, starting in 2024, has made regional subsidies for research organisations, companies, public administrations and civil society conditional on respect for social and environmental standards. She believes the EU should do the same for its\u0026nbsp;\u20ac95.5 billion research programme known as Horizon Europe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Sometimes you need a revolution \u2013 or at least a mini revolution,\u2019 Trachte told Horizon Magazine.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe said that Europe\u2019s regions have a key role to play in advancing the continent\u2019s transition to a net-zero economy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith the EU seeking to become climate neutral by 2050 under the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/commission.europa.eu\/strategy-and-policy\/priorities-2019-2024\/european-green-deal_en\u0022\u003EEuropean Green Deal\u003C\/a\u003E, Horizon Europe has placed increasing emphasis on projects to hasten the switch towards clean energy and away from fossil fuels and to ensure the process is socially fair.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlready the third-biggest part of the EU budget, Horizon Europe would have even greater impact on green and social matters across the continent by following the example set by the Brussels-Capital Region.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a nutshell, \u20ac50 million of subsidies granted annually by the region for research and innovation require recipients to respect a do-no-harm principle and have a positive impact on the environment or social equality, according to\u0026nbsp;Stephanie Lepczynski, who is Trachte\u2019s policy adviser.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are showing the way and we hope that this can influence the European Commission by encouraging it to put environmental, social and governance criteria into the eligibility of Horizon projects,\u2019 Lepczynski said at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprojects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu%2Fen%2Fevents%2Fupcoming-events%2Fresearch-innovation-days\u0026amp;data=05%7C02%7CCatherine.HOWIE%40netcompany.com%7C724cc468b18241b894cc08dc7e5f59c7%7C8f9b88a73f3e4be3aae42006d4c42306%7C1%7C0%7C638524196735652714%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C\u0026amp;sdata=PSYDExikhDa76pNSAC5Y76ZVdF2dRdHXG6%2BhrRN%2BLj8%3D\u0026amp;reserved=0\u0022\u003EEuropean Research and Innovation Days\u003C\/a\u003E event in Brussels on 20-21 March 2024.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESecrets to success\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGender and transborder-cooperation requirements currently in place for EU funding help ensure greater diversity in research teams and produce scientific results that better reflect the make-up of society, according to Lepczynski.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe said that social and environmental conditionality in Horizon Europe would force researchers systematically to check that they\u2019re acting for the common good and help ensure that funding advances EU green and social goals.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003ESometimes you need a revolution \u2013 or at least a mini revolution.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EBarbara Trachte, Brussels-Capital Region\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETrachte said such conditions will also be merited in the successor programme of Horizon Europe, which runs for seven years through 2027.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I wish for the next EU framework programme to decide the same \u2013 to have a greater impact and make a bigger contribution to the objectives of the European Green Deal,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor Trachte, EU projects can have the most impact where academic, industry, government, civil society and the environment interact.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis\u0026nbsp;is known as the \u201cquintuple helix\u201d approach to innovation. It has led governments increasingly to prioritise public involvement in innovation processes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This ensures that research is rooted in society and geared towards finding solutions to today\u2019s major societal challenges such as climate degradation, growing socio-economic inequalities or democracies,\u2019 Trachte said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMission driven\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe singled out as particularly important the five Horizon Europe \u201cMissions\u201d:\u0026nbsp;adapting to climate change, fighting cancer, restoring oceans, cleaning up soil and establishing 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The five Missions are a very innovative tool to make the societal challenges stand out \u2013 in particular the triple crisis of climate, biodiversity and pollution and the health challenges related to it,\u2019 Trachte said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn Brussels, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fresearch-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu%2Ffunding%2Ffunding-opportunities%2Ffunding-programmes-and-open-calls%2Fhorizon-europe%2Feu-missions-horizon-europe%2Fclimate-neutral-and-smart-cities_en\u0026amp;data=05%7C02%7CCatherine.HOWIE%40netcompany.com%7C724cc468b18241b894cc08dc7e5f59c7%7C8f9b88a73f3e4be3aae42006d4c42306%7C1%7C0%7C638524196735660957%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C\u0026amp;sdata=LNMMJOlDwBw0VqWFXKEvF8qJ6IpRjdJnV9nfWoayi7s%3D\u0026amp;reserved=0\u0022\u003EClimate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;was notably successful in bringing\u0026nbsp;together regional and local administrations\u0026nbsp;as well as other partners from the private sector.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The enthusiasm created behind the Missions has mobilised many different actors,\u2019 Trachte said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe views of the interviewees don\u2019t necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-bo0pfgojor5juzinlshf1g-byziyb9wy8mjmple2nz0\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-BO0pfgoJOr5JUzinlSHf1G_byzIYb9wy8MJmPLe2nZ0\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]