The Western Macedonia Regional Development Fund, project partner “GREENSMARTMED – Green and Resilient European Excellence Network for Smart MED SMEs” which aims to promotion of “green industry”, 19th December 2025 held the 3The LIVING LAB Workshop Meeting From testing phase results to policy guidelines in the building of the Region of Western Macedonia, ZEP Kozani, with participants the National Research Center & of Technological Development (EKETA), project partner and institutions of the Region of Western Macedonia.
The purpose of the 3rd LIVING LAB Workshop Meeting was to develop concrete policy guidelines to promote sustainable development and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Through the meeting, the substantial participation of the representatives of the Region of Western Macedonia was ensured, while at the same time an open consultation was held on the proposed policy guidelines.
The broader purpose of the meeting was the development of an active dialogue on the issues of policy development, with representatives of the public sector, at local and regional level, with members of organizations, Chambers, Academic community, business consultants, representatives of businesses and clusters (wine – cheese), civil society actors active in the Region of Western Macedonia. These recommendations can include strengthening policies that facilitate green infrastructure, improving financial incentives for green investment, and strengthening education and training on sustainability and the circular economy. Specific focus areas include climate action, energy transition, environmental protection, circular economy and green industry.
More specifically, members of its Support Group participated “Smart Specialisation Strategy”, Western Macedonia RIS structure, who analyzed the results of the business needs recording questionnaires (RIS3) and presented the Strategic Conclusions, executives of Special Management Service of the “Western Macedonia” Program – EYD PDM analysing how the conclusions can be used by the Western Macedonia Operational Programme. Representatives from the Kozani Regional Structure Business Support Mechanism, sectoral trends were analyzed from proposals submitted by beneficiaries to the entrepreneurship support mechanism. Representatives of the Chambers of the Region of Western Macedonia were also present, highlighting their proposals for policy making, while the planning of the Region and the Local Self-Government to support entrepreneurship was also analyzed.
Within 2025, there were two more live meetings to disseminate the methodology and objectives of the GREENSMARTMED project and to inform the Economic entities of the Region of Western Macedonia about current funding opportunities, European and National funding tools, which were available for submission.
The project partners, Regional Development Fund of Western Macedonia and National Research Center & of Technological Development (EKETA) in cooperation with all the strategic partners of the project GREENSMARTMED they will continue towards the same recommended for the creation of synergies between the local bodies with axes of environmental protection and the circular economy, actively supporting the working groups that have been formed, with an emphasis on agri-food (cheese and wine sectors).
Full Press Release here
