Central and Eastern Europe join forces to advance sustainable bioeconomies through the BIOEAST initiative
- Rural Pact
- Rural Revitalisation Platform
- Research and innovation
- Bioeconomy & circular economy
- Forestry
- Agriculture and food
- Energy
- Stronger Rural Areas
- Prosperous rural areas
- Resilient rural areas
The initiative strengthens cooperation across Central and Eastern Europe to build knowledge-based, sustainable bioeconomies that drive innovation, resilience and growth in rural areas. BIOEAST supports countries in developing national bioeconomy strategies, building research and innovation capacity, and creating synergies between agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, energy and food systems.
Image by Bioeast
Bringing together 11 countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – the BIOEAST initiative provides a shared framework for aligning national strategies with EU objectives for the green and circular transitions. It focuses on generating new value-added chains, ensuring sustainable management of natural resources, and contributing to job creation and rural development by driving the creation of new value-added bio-based jobs in Central and Eastern European rural areas.
The initiative operates through thematic working groups covering agroecology, bio-based materials, bioenergy, food systems, forestry, freshwater and education. Additionally, it coordinates a network of national BIOEAST hubs and a digital knowledge platform that connect governments, research institutions, civil society and local actors to co-create practical solutions for rural and bio-based innovation.
The initiative is led by the Horizon Europe-funded BOOST4BIOEAST (B4B) project to assist the creation of national bioeconomy action plans and foster long-lasting mechanisms and dialogues for national and macro-regional cooperation.
Discover the latest Rural Pact resources on the topic of bioeconomy and circular economy.