BECOTEPS to discuss bio-economy opportunities at European Parliament

The opportunities for the European bio-economy will be discussed at a seminar organised by BECOTEPS at the European Parliament in Brussels on 5 May.

SusChem is one of nine European Technology Platforms that are party to the BECOTEPS (The Bio-Economy Technology Platforms join forces to address synergies and gaps between their Strategic Research Agendas) project.

The seminar will be hosted by four MEPs: Giles Chichester (UK), Teresa Riera Madurell (Spain), Paolo de Castro (Italy), and Romana Jordan Cizelj (Slovenia).

The meeting will be a key opportunity for a cross-section of stakeholders to consider challenges such as food security, energy, sustainability and smart bio-products and discuss new concepts developed jointly by the ETPs that can best address these challenges.

MEP Giles Chichester will welcome the participants. He will be followed by Karin Metzlaff from the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) who will outline the concept of the bio-economy and the various sectors this brings together. Then Maive Rute, European Commission Director for Biotechnologies, Agriculture, and Food Research, will present her vision of the bio-economy.

After these introductions, three experts will give presentations: Prof. Gerd Harzer from Kraft Foods with talk about ‘Sufficient and better Food’; Dr. Dirk Carrez of EuropaBio will describe ‘Smart Bioproducts’, and Ulrich Schurr from the Jülich Research Centre will present on ‘Stewardship for Natural Resources and Future Generations’.

These talks will initiate discussion not only on the specific issues presented, but also on the bio-economy at large and what various stakeholders can do in research, innovation, education and policy to make this a reality.

The meeting starts at 16:30 and will be followed by a reception in the early evening. Due to limited numbers participation is by invitation only. If you would like to participate please contact Dorothee Bongaerts at EPSO before 30 April.

BECOTEPS
The FP7 Specific Support Action (SSA) BECOTEPS was formally launched in March 2009 and is funded for two years. The project aims to increase coordination between its participating ETPs and develop recommendations for better interaction between stakeholders along product supply chains, promote sustainability, and address research synergies and knowledge gaps.
The project brings together the nine ETPs involved in the Knowledge-based Bio-Economy (KBBE) thematic area. In addition to SusChem these are:
- Plants for the Future
- Food for Life
- Farm Animal Breeding
- Global Animal Health
- Aquaculture
- Forest-Based Sector
- Biofuels; and
- Agricultural Engineering and technologies.

The European Feed Technology Center (EUFETEC) also participates in the project.