Riga, 19 October 2020 - The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) has announced the application of for national pre-selection in order to nominate the Latvian candidates for the European Commission (EC) draft on the establishment of European Digital Innovation Centres. European Digital Innovation Centres are part of the European Union (EU) Digital Europe Programme, which will launch in 2021.
Minister Juris Pūce: "European Digital Innovation Centres will contribute to the development, deployment and application of interoperable digital solutions for services provided at EU level. This will contribute to the development of research, the creation of innovation and the establishment of common frameworks, enabling citizens and businesses of Latvia to make full use of the potential of digital transformation."
Such centres will be established and operational in all EU Member States, with the aim of promoting the digital transformation of European countries by introducing new technologies in companies, public administrations and improving the digital skills of Member States' citizens.
Latvia will be part of a common European digital technology ecosystem, creating an opportunity to take on other countries' experience and knowledge, and to share their competences.
The main objective of digital innovation centres will be to promote the growth of Latvia (like other Member States) in conjunction with the digital transformation of the economy and society in such a way that citizens can also benefit from the digital process. . In order to do this, centres will have to provide access to the latest digital technologies by promoting the take-over of good practices between sectors and improving the use of digital technologies in public administrations and businesses, in line with the challenges created by the digital transformation.
To this end, candidate bodies should be selected by each Member State in the open selection procedure, nominating tenderers with which the EC will carry out further consultations in the preparation of an application for an EC draft procedure in which digital innovation centres will be selected and approved according to the criteria laid down.
In Latvia, responsible for the regulation of the Digital Europe Programme is the VARAM which, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Finance and the State Regional Development Agency, has developed a pre-selection by-law for the implementation of digital innovation centres (https://www.varam.gov.lv/lv/eiropas-digitalie-inovacijas-centres), establishing criteria for the participation of applicants in the European Centre for Digital Innovation national pre-selection.
Invites applicants to submit their applications electronically by 6 November 2020, at .23: 59. Email applications: pasts@varam.gov.lv.
Information prepared by:
Department for Public Relations
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development
Tel. .20200305; 67026533,
E-mail: prese@varam.gov.lv