In view of the importance of core technologies both for European sovereignty and for decreasing the dependence of European industry on American and Asian technologies in the smart networks and services domains, it is vital that Europe reinvents its strategy for developing core technologies for 5G and beyond. This requires concrete and coordinated actions from both the European telecommunications industry and the European microelectronics industry. COREnect brings together the most prominent European industrial and academia players as well as industry associations in the network, microelectronics and verticals domains to jointly design a core technology roadmap. The goal is to establish a sustainable European technology sovereignty in 5G and beyond, promote innovation and business opportunities e.g. for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), pave the way for one or more future European champions in this area, and lay a solid foundation for the long-term success of both industries. A new COREnect community will emerge from the close collaboration between Smart Networks and Services (SNS) and Key Digital Technologies (KDT) communities as well as with other related communities, e.g., on High-Performance Computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), Photonics, IoT and Cloud. Through outreach activities via its extensive industry and academia network, COREnect will have the potential to significantly impact the European R&I and industry landscape of future connectivity systems over the next ten years.