European Member States will start a two-year discussion on the “Conference of Europe” in December 2021 and, as a consequence, the debate on the European Knowledge Area (EKA) will be a continuous topic.
Complementing the legislation, there will be a substantial infrastructure restructuring in this area, supported by European-level financial resources and the Next-Generation EU fund. Investment into key projects under the Digital Europe Programme, such as the digital twins and Destination Earth, has the potential to define the European digital topology for twenty to thirty years.
The role of GÉANT and the NRENs
The EKA represents the convergence of four different sectors: Education, Research, Innovation and, lately, Skills. In all four, GÉANT and the NRENs (National Research and Education Networks) provide services and expertise to enable the development of knowledge in Europe.
To learn more, see: GÉANT and the NRENs Enable the European Knowledge Area – GÉANT Position Paper