​During the last plenary session Mr Kieran McCarthy, EA Coordinator for SEDEC Commission, addressed the Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Mr  Carlos Moedas. He welcomed the openness of the European Commission to cooperate with the CoR in the aspect of RTD and creation of the Knowledge Exchange Platform (KEP) which should be a good tool for the bilateral and equal exchange between both institutions.  He said that: "The idea of KEP is based on the political commitment given by you, Commissioner, to the CoR at the last SEDEC meeting to intensify the co-operation between your services and the CoR to address the growing innovation divide in Europe and to better disseminate and link the knowledge created by the HORIZON 2020 programme (nearly 80 billion EURO) at local and regional level.". He added that "...improving synergies between COSME, Horizon 2020 and the Structural Funds is a key element of the new programmes".