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The EU Member States agreed on Friday, October 15, at the first meeting of the Digital Europe Program Committee, the work program for the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) for the next 3 years, the Authority for the Digitization of Romania (ADR) announced on Monday.
At national level, following the evaluation carried out in 2020, 12 digital innovation centers from the 8 regions of the country were selected to participate in the European competition to become members of the EDIH network. The first call is scheduled for November 2021, and if the applications meet the technical conditions, the financing contracts will be signed during 2022.
"The adoption of the work program is an essential step towards achieving the objectives included in the Digital Europe Program, setting a timetable of activities and the necessary budget. The European Commission will provide 321.2 million euros for the establishment of a European network of digital innovation centers, which to support the public sector and the private sector in the process of transition to a digitalized economy at the highest level. More than 14 million euros will go to centers in Romania, given the major impact that digital innovation centers will have in accelerating the digital transition "It is important for the European network to be set up quickly so that digital innovation centers can start operating and provide useful services for companies and public institutions," said Octavian Oprea, president of ADR, Agerpres informs.
The financial support offered through the Digital Europe Program for the digital innovation centers in Romania reaches a total of 14.5 million euros for the first 3 years. This funding can be supplemented by the Intelligent Growth, Digitization and Financial Instruments Operational Program 2021 - 2027, which will be approved by the European Commission in the next period.
In addition, the European Commission has allocated 4 million euros for the creation of the Digital Transformation Accelerator, a structure that will support digital innovation centers by creating a space for training, collaboration and connecting relevant initiatives.
