Catalonia
The collaborations between Catalonia and the Emilia-Romagna Region
General profile of the autonomous region
Country: | Spain |
Region: | Catalonia |
President: | Pere Aragonès Garcia |
Capital: | Barcellona |
Catalonia has a strong industrial tradition. At present, manufacturing, construction, tourism and services are the main economic sectors in the region. Catalonia is considered one of the ‘four motors of Europe’ together with Baden-Württemberg, Lombardy and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, four highly industrialised areas of the European Union.
The cooperation with Catalonia dates back to 2013-14, when the Emilia-Romagna Region signed a number of agreements on fruit and vegetables and solidarity economy for innovative welfare. In 2014, the Councillors for Social Policy of the two Regions signed a joint declaration to promote cooperation in the field of social services. Afterwards, the two Regions addressed many issues that led to the implementation of concrete projects, especially on the topic of innovation.
On 8 July 2022, Presidents Stefano Bonaccini of the Emilia-Romagna Region and Pere Aragonès Garcia of the Generalitat de Catalunya signed a Cooperation Agreement with the aim of strengthening and further developing the existing fruitful relations.
Areas of cooperation
Innovation, Big Data and artificial intelligenceDigital transformation of public administrationMaritime economy, climate changeAgenda 2030Health care sector, in particular data analysis Cooperation in the Mediterranean
European project "DT4 Regions" (July 2021-June 2023)
Led by Emilia-Romagna and funded through the Preparatory Action “Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in the Digital Transformation of Public Administrations in Europe”.
As part of the “DT4 Regions” project, initial contacts were also made with CIDAI (Centre of Innovation for Data Tech and Artificial Intelligence), which develops concrete and marketable solutions, promotes knowledge transfer and the implementation of joint projects involving knowledge producers (universities, research and innovation centres), companies providing technology and services, and user companies and institutions requiring innovative applied artificial intelligence solutions. CIDAI is a Foundation in which the Catalan Region and the two large multinationals SAP and Microsoft have a stake. It is therefore able to directly develop a productive partnership with large market players by producing customised applications for both the private and public sectors, all while streamlining the time and procedures for contracting (pre-commercial procurement).
Other projects
Several collaboration projects are ongoing between CINECA and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC). One of them is the IoTwins project, funded by the European Horizon 2020 Programme. The project is led by Bonfiglioli and the University of Bologna, and it has more than 20 partners, including the BSC and Futbol Club Barcelona. The aim of the project is to build a reference architecture for the development and exploitation of digital twins of production plants and processes.
The Municipality of Bologna and the Municipality of Barcelona have signed a specific agreement concerning a “digital twin city” project.
Emilia-Romagna, Catalonia and Bavaria have been collaborating for years on current topics. Climate change, soil protection, groundwater quality and quantity, the extent of natural hazards and the dissemination of geological knowledge are the areas of common interest of the three Regions. Alongside these issues, the Regions are working to strengthen the role of Information Systems for the management of geo-environmental data and the elaboration of thematic maps, especially maps of geo-environmental risks and hazards.
The Directorate General for Resources, Europe, Innovation and Institutions highlighted the experience of the Emilia-Romagna Region in the Adriatic-Ionian area through the ADRION programme, where our Region plays an emerging role in the framework of diplomatic relations in Eastern Europe.
In the framework of the European MED Programme, the PANORAMED project has promoted the elaboration of a governance approach for the Mediterranean shared by the main institutional players working for the development of the area through Programmes, Strategies and Initiatives. Catalonia is the project leader.
In 2020, following the pandemic, the Catalonia Region created a network of Regions – which was joined also by Emilia-Romagna – to make their voices heard by the European Union on the future of Europe (COFOE) and recovery in the EU.
Twin Towns
- Municipality of Bologna/Municipality of Barcelona (Cooperation Agreement)
- Municipality of Ferrara/Municipality of Lleida