"Knowledge will be the principal engine of tomorrow's growth, growth that will not simply be similar to "that of yesterday", but growth that is really to be reinvented and should be put in the perspective of ultimate goals such as the improvement of employment and the well-being of our fellow citizens, as well the sustainability of our planet," says Benoît Cerexhe, Acting President of the Competitiveness Council (Research) under Belgian Presidency.

"In this context, we need to strengthen the link between the capacity to create new knowledge, competitiveness of our companies and the creation of employment. Therefore we need a large, transversal and inclusive vision on research and innovation", he emphasises.

A point of debate during the Belgian Presidency will be the “successor” of the Barcelona objective, targeting to increase R&D spending to 3% of GDP, adding to it a more qualitative dimension and the monitoring of the objective. However, one should not only look at the quantity of money spent but also the efficiency of means and the achieved results - for instance in terms of increase of the mobility of researchers and academics or the quality of higher education.

Putting Research and Innovation at the core of the « 2020 » Strategy, also implies to progress in concrete towards convergence of Research and Innovation policies. This is more specifically achieved through initiatives such as joint programming, but also through a model of governance that effectively promotes synergies between research, innovation and higher education, as well as synergies between the European Union, Member States and regions.

Simplification of financial rules is key issue for FP participation

Specific attention will be given to the simplification of the administrative and financial control procedures, as well as to the coherence of Research and Innovation programmes. Administrative and financial simplification is not a minor issue. It is vital to the improvement of access to European programmes of small and medium entreprises in particular. Moreover, without this effort of simplification, it will be far more difficult to guarantee real complementarity between Community, national and regional instruments.

Special attention will also be given to the significance of showing the citizen the importance of investment in research. It's essential to explain to the public opinion the importance of long term investment in research, for a sustainable society and for the well-being of future generations.

Source: Cordis, as accessed on July 1, 2010.