Following the Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference held in Brussels on 9-10 March 2017, the Commission and the EESC jointly launched the European circular economy stakeholder platform. The European circular economy stakeholder platform will be a 'network of networks' going beyond sectorial activities and highlighting cross-sector opportunities and challenges. The Platform will be a hub gathering knowledge on circular economy and a place for dialogue between stakeholders.

The European Commission published its sixth monitoring report in which it reviewed 18 projects in the fields of social protection and inclusion, employment, working conditions and European job mobility. These were funded under the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) and its predecessor programmes PROGRESS and EURES.

The EU's innovation performance last year continued to grow despite somewhat uneven progress observed around Europe. This is one of the main findings of the latest Innovation Scoreboard published today by the European Commission. Overall, innovation performance has improved in 15 countries, though large differences exist between these Member States.

The latest issue of Panorama magazine is a special edition dedicated to discussion of Cohesion Policy post-2020. The Cohesion Forum, which takes place on 26-27 June in Brussels, will be an important milestone in this process. Cohesion policy needs to reflect on the demanding challenge of making Europe's economy more inclusive, competitive and resilient and must address the questions raised by the White paper on the future of Europe about the added value of EU policies, subsidiarity, and gaps between promise and delivery

‘Exploring Operational Programmes’ was the theme of the second Design4Innovation Partnership Meeting which took place over two days (31st May – 1st June) in the vibrant city of Thessaloniki. During this time, the Design4Innovation partners reviewed the progress of the project's activities, examined their Operational Programmes (OPs) and visited three innovation hubs in order to find out about the best practice in business and the innovation support in Greece.

KEPA hosted the first National Stakeholder Group Meeting in Greece, which took place in EFEPAE’s Headquarters, Athens on the 11^th of May. KEPA’s officers held a presentation, getting participants to better understand organisation’s interest and activities. Afterwards, participants were introduced to the goals and activities of the project, focusing on the Action Plan to be delivered in the end of the 1^st Phase of the project’s implementation. 

Where can EU countries turn when they want advice on improving their national research and innovation system? The Horizon 2020 Policy Support Facility (PSF) would be a good starting  point - it provides tailored-made policy recommendations both to EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon 2020.

Today's package of measures will make it easier for people and companies to manage their paperwork online in their home country or when working, living or doing business in another EU country. It will help ensure that commonly agreed EU rules are respected.