Press Maria da Graça Carvalho held the first meeting of the "Friends of EIT" group

Maria da Graça Carvalho was invited by Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou to co-create and chair the "Friends of EIT" group.

The objective of this group is that a limited number of MEPs - from different political groups and different Committees - discuss the European Institute of Innovation and Technology's (EIT) future, creating a privileged interaction platform to exchange openly on the EIT and its future strategy.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) aims to bring about a step change in Europe's innovation capacity. Major decisions will have to be taken over the following months, including the selection of new priority themes for the EIT's Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) and the question of the EIT's financing. By the end of this year, the Commission will put forward a Strategic Innovation Agenda (SIA) to the co-legislators based on an EIT orientation draft, which will set out the priorities of the EIT for the next seven years including a proposal for a potentially modified EIT Regulation. 

During her intervention, Maria da Graça Carvalho said she was convinced that "this close cooperation will be fundamental for ensuring that the EIT becomes a true ice-breaker in the European innovation landscape".

The Friends of EIT group will raise awareness about this project in order to secure a sound future footing for the EIT. 

The EIT is developing new forms of governance for innovation, based - for the fist time at EU level - on the full integration of the "knowledge triangle" of higher education, research and business. Following its initial establishment phase, the EIT stands now ready to deliver on its first objectives: addressing key societal challenges within a clear business-friendly framework, developing new businesses and jobs, innovating in existing industries and giving rise to the next generation of world-class European entrepreneurs.

Agenda of the meeting and list of participants here