VARIO interviews (Flemish) MEPs

The observation that the European science, innovation and industrial policy is increasingly influencing Flemish policy in this area - both in terms of financing and legislation - and that Flemish researchers and entrepreneurs must also increasingly take this into account, is the impetus for a new advisory project that VARIO is currently working on. VARIO is examining a number of questions around which it will formulate its recommendations. How can Flanders best deal with what happens at European level in order to get the most benefits out of it? How and to what extent does Flanders weigh on European policy and how can this possibly be optimised? In this context, a number of VARIO council and staff members knocked on the door of Flemish MEPs. They recently visited Geert Bourgeois and had an online conversation with Philippe Lamberts, Tom Vandenkendelaere and Philippe De Backer (ex-MEP). The interviews did not avoid any topic and provided interesting insights that we will certainly include in the advisory report. Earlier, there were interviews with leading officials of the policy domain of Science, Economy and Innovation, with VLEVA and with the Flemish Representation to the EU. More interviews with various actors are planned for the coming months.