Ministers of Science and their representatives from 18 CEI Member States, together with High Officials from the European Commission and from international scientific institutions attended the CEI Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology in Trieste on 19 September 2012. At the centre of discussions the development of the “Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium - C-ERIC”, with the aim to further enhance the access of the scientific communities of the CEI Member States to state-of-the-art research facilities, such as Sincrotron Radiation Laboratory “Elettra” and free Electron Laser Laboratory “Fermi” - a CEI contribution for strengthening the European Research Area (ERA). See also the Final Communiqué.
Next Generation Biofuels and their contribution to a Bio-based Economy was the topic of the thematic CEI Ministerial Conference “Renewable Energy in a Bio-based Economy: The Option of Next Generation Biofuels”, organised back to back with the Ministerial Meeting on 20 September 2012. Ministers and their representatives for Science and Technology, Energy, Environment, Agriculture and Economy, together with High-level Officials of the European Commission and international experts recognised the challenge of Next Generation Biofuels as “a multi-faceted and priority option for any eco-friendly strategy” and for a bio-based economy in the CEI region. The basis for discussions was offered by the Report commissioned by the CEI to the Bloomberg - New Energy Finance about the perspectives on Next Generation Biofuels and other Bio-products in the CEI Region, published in March 2012. It was agreed that it is necessary to promote not only the research and development but also the concrete results coming from pilot demonstration projects or industrial projects. The CEI has developed three concrete initiatives for promoting biofuels and biofuels technologies, which are to be supported by the European Union through its funding programme. See also the Final Communiqué. Presentations available: Ministerial Meeting (19 Sept. 2012)- Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter, CEI Secretary General
- Filippo Giorgi, Head of ICTP Earth System Physics (Italy)
- Giorgio Rosso Cicogna, CEI Alternate Secretary General
- Antonio Di Giulio, Acting Director for Biotechnologies, Agriculture and Food, EC/DG Research and Innovation
- Kare Riis Nielsen, Director for European Affairs (Novozymes)
Ministerial Conference (20 Sept. 2012)
- Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter, CEI Secretary General
- Giorgio Rosso Cicogna, CEI Alternate Secretary General
- Lars Hansen, Chair of European Biofuels Technology Platform and Director (Novozymes)
- Constantin Ciupagea, Head of Unit, Institute for Environment and Sustainability EC/DG Joint Research Centre (Ispra)
- Stanislav Miertus, Director of the International Centre for Applied Research (Slovakia)
- Hristina Spasevska, Vice Dean at Faculty of Engineering, Cyril and Methodius University (Macedonia)
- Bruno Schmitz, Head of Unit for Energy, EC/DG Research and Innovation
- Miroslav Veskovic, Rector of the University of Novi Sad (Serbia)
- Milan Martinov, University of Novi Sad (Serbia)
- Goran Blagojevic, CEO of Pediment d.o.o, Belgrade (Serbia)
- Antal Ferenc Kovács, Office of the Government Commissioner, European Union Strategy for the Danube Region, MFA in Budapest (Hungary)
- Sandro Cobror, M&G Group (Italy)
- Wolfgang Streienberger, Advisor to the Director General, EC/DG for Regional Policy