In his opening address, Ambassador Jaroslav Zajíček has noted that “aerospace has a long tradition in the Czech Republic and it is of strategic importance as it is a magnet for business R&D investments, speeds up and boosts the diffusion of innovation across sectors and creates quality jobs.” In the last couple of years, aviation industry is growing steadily. Czech innovative companies must gradually shift their focus from European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) financing towards other programmes and financial instruments as the financial envelope for ESIF will decrease in the post-2020 period. In this respect, the Aviation sector is a great example. Czech companies have achieved solid success in the Clean Sky 2 programme insofar. Clean Sky 2 supports research, development and innovation in green aviation.

The Czech Ministry of Trade and Industry was progressive when it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Clean Sky 2 last year. The aim is to create synergies in financing from ESIF and Horizon 2020, i.e. Clean Sky 2. The Ministry is preparing a special call under “OPEIC Aplikace” programme which will bridge the gap between ESIF and other EU funds. “The synergy we are creating will also stimulate the creation of consortiums which will facilitate better interaction of various actors within the research and innovation environment”, says Tomáš Novotný, Deputy Minister for EU Funds, Research, Development, Innovation and Investment Incentives, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.

The event was organised by CEBRE – Czech Business Representation to the EU, Cleans Sky 2 and Czech Permanent Representation to the EU.