A strategic and integrated approach to increase innovation and profit from Europe's intellectual capital will give European citizens, researchers and businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the boost they need. The EU Council plans to improve the mobility and career prospects of researchers, and ensure a full European Research Area (ERA) within the next two years - one of the EU's most important goals. The Council also noted that the year 2015 will have a Digital Single Market, and more national public procurement budgets will be spent for the purchase of innovative products and services.

EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation Máire Geoghegan-Quinn highlighted the 'innovation emergency' that Europeans face. The recent Innovation Union Scoreboard outlined how the EU must start plugging its innovation holes if it wants to catch up with the global competition and maintain any leads it has over other countries such as India and Russia.

'I am delighted with today's European Council conclusions on innovation,' Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn said after the summit. 'Heads of State and Government have today, based on the Commission's proposals, taken a big step towards the Innovation Union that all of us in Europe need.'

The Commissioner underlined how EU leaders now recognise that the Innovation Union is an economic strategy, which will help the region to cut deficits and debt. 'I am particularly pleased that EU leaders gave the green light for the launch of the first European Innovation Partnership,' she said. 'This will be on the theme of active and healthy ageing, and will aim to give the average European two more years of good health. As well as having enormous benefits for older people and their families, this would contribute to relieving the strain on public finances.'

The conclusions of the summit correspond to the European Commission's Annual Growth Survey, including the need for smart fiscal consolidation and growth-enhancing measures.

Public research and development (R&D) expenditure should be maintained and possibly raised, and leveraging in other funding should be made more effective, the Commissioner said. Doing so would help the EU reach the agreed 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) target for overall public and private R&D investment by 2020.

'EU leaders have also given strong backing to a series of proposals in the Innovation Union to improve the framework conditions for innovative companies,' Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn said. 'They have endorsed an EU-wide venture capital scheme building on the European Investment Fund. They have supported our call for a reinforced Risk Sharing Finance Facility. They have agreed on the need to act to promote procurement of innovative goods and services and to accelerate and modernise standard setting in Europe.'

The Commissioner emphasised that time is of the essence. 'As our recent Innovation Union Scoreboard highlighted, a step change in Europe's research and innovation performance is required if we are to achieve a sustainable exit from crisis, catch up with the US and stay ahead of emerging nations.' The EU leaders have given their green light, she said. 'This gives us the momentum we need to start delivering.'

Commenting on the conclusions of the summit, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said: 'New technologies have a role to play here. And in today's world, if we want our economy to stay on top, we need to ensure the right conditions for a steady supply of home-grown European ideas and inventions. That is what will allow European companies to compete effectively and grow globally. So I'm glad that we have put innovation at the heart of our economic policy.'
 

Links:
Council of the European Union:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/showPage.aspx?id=⟨=en

Innovation Union:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm

Europe 2020:
http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm

Source: http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.document&N_RCN=33040; Based on the Council of the EU conclusions EUCO 2/11; European Commission MEMO/11/72 and SPEECH/11/68
Record control number (RCN):33040