Dear Friends,
this very challenging year is coming to an end and I would take this occasion to thank all of you for your continued collaboration and engagement that has allowed EPTRI to reach great achievements. As you know, EPTRI ended the design phase and just entered in the preparatory phase. We have also submitted the application for the inclusion in the ESFRI Roadmap 2021 and have received the official communication from the European Commission informing that the application is considered eligible and inviting us to participate to the hearings between February/May 2021. The result of the evaluation process will be communicated between June/September 2021 while the official launch of the ESFRI Roadmap is expected in October/November 2021. Now it is really important for EPTRI to consolidate the political and financial support within each country in order to transform the already granted support into real commitment, both for the 16 countries that have already provided EPTRI with a letter of political support and for all the other interested countries. In order to achieve this, it is crucial to strengthen the links with the related Ministries in charge of the Research Infrastructures, outreach to the national authorities for inclusion of EPTRI in the National Roadmaps so that they can be aligned with the EC process, and lobby for obtaining funding at national and regional levels.
To these purposes, we will continue our great collaboration in the years to come.
May you get to spend the most beautiful time with the ones you care for.
Merry Christmas to all of you and fruitful 2021!
Donato Bonifazi
EPTRI Coordinator