References to the VARIO Advisory Report ‘Top regions’ in budget discussions in the Flemish Parliament

On November 16 and 23, 2023, the Commission for Economy, Work, Social Economy, Science and Innovation considered the draft decree containing the expenditure budget of the Flemish Community for the fiscal year 2024. The discussion was largely based on the policy and budget notes. VARIO advisory report 14 'Towards the top of knowledge and innovation regions in 2030' was covered in the discussions on the Economy, Science and Innovation policy domain. Member of Parliament Maurits Vande Reyde referred to the seven core working points in the advisory report, in order to reach to Europe's top innovation regions. These include solving the shortages in STEM, lifelong learning and a more efficient innovation policy. Among other things, he asked Minister Brouns for an overview of the progress on each of the seven working points, but also inquired about the way in which these are mapped out. Maurits Vande Reyde also indicated that he believes a stronger business climate is a crucial condition for belonging to the top regions in Europe. "Indeed, VARIO's analysis shows that all top European regions have favorable indicators in terms of taxation, legal certainty and administrative simplicity.”