Member States are relying on innovation
This was the conclusion of Jean-Claude Marcourt as he brought to a close the Competitiveness Council on industry which ended on Tuesday 12th October in Luxembourg and whose debates were entirely devoted to the Union for Innovation. This is a flagship initiative of the Commission aimed at relaunching the European Union's competitiveness within the context of the EU 2020 strategy.
Innovation is vital to the European Union’s external competitiveness. It is therefore important to invest in this area and, in particular, in the capacity of businesses to innovate, especially in the case of SMEs. The majority of delegations believe that innovation meets societal challenges and will contribute to industry’s sustainability. A sustainable industry constitutes our competitive advantage.
The Member States have approved the Commission’s approach to funding. In the future, action will be focused at a number of levels: supporting private funding, developing public resources and strengthening their effectiveness. In this context, the role of the European Investment bank in financing expanding innovative companies is central. A number of options have been put forward: guarantee systems and the improvement of the cross-border venture capital market, stimulation of public procurement contracts, and creation of a European patents market. In this respect, European regulations must be modernised and the SME business environment must be simplified.
The form that state subsidies might take has been the subject of a great many interventions. The revision of the state subsidies framework, both in the context of supporting innovation in all its forms and of restructuring programmes, provides an opportunity to support innovation. The external dimension should also be taken into consideration within the revision process.
The Commission has offered to create an innovation council, bringing together the Ministers of Industry and of Research and meeting approximately once every six months. This idea has been well received. The delegations feel it is important that such a council should remain centralised within the Competitiveness Council whose position and role must be strengthened. But it is not a question of simply developing a new group, but rather of creating a forum for exchange and follow up within joint meetings between the industry and research sectors in order to make the positions of these various sectors more coherent. This would also be a forum for exchanging best practices.
Finally, partnerships to meet the challenges highlighted (clustering, etc.) were also put forward by a number of delegations. However, clarification is needed with regard to their implementation. The pilot approach recommended by the Commission is, in this respect, welcomed with interest.
3035th COMPETITIVENESS Council meeting (provisional version) - Luxembourg, 11-12 October 2010
