Bioeconomy for Resilient Post-COVID Economies.

The EU's updated bioeconomy strategy stated that "... low bioeconomy added value in the CEE is at odds with their high, and, compared to other European regions, yet underutilized biomass potential" [[13]]. Furthermore, the bioeconomy contributes to the circular economy, more specifically to the sustainable carbon cycles of biomass production and processing, as it promotes the sustainable and efficient exploitation of renewable resources in closed material and energy loops substituting for fossil-based products. The BIOEAST macro regional initiative that has been going on since 2016 aims to help build up knowledge-based agriculture, aquaculture, and forestry in the bioeconomy by contributing to the national-level bioeconomy strategy and action plan development. In the creation of this Special Issue, the editors identified circular bioeconomy, i.e., sustainable optimization of the value of biomass through its cascading use [[1]], as the key engine of the future economic growth of post-COVID economic recovery. [Extracted from the article]