RTD Programmes - the future Investing in research : an action plan for Europe

Website: ec.europa.eu/research/era/index_en.html
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The following information comes from the Europa Website. This website is updated regularly, so use it to keep track of progress in the implementation of the action plan.

Executive Summary

The present action plan sets out initiatives required to give Europe a stronger public research base and to make it much more attractive to private investment in research and innovation. Carrrying out these actions will allow the European Union to bridge the growing gap in the levels of research investment between Europe and its main trading partners, which is putting at risk our long term innovation, growth and employment potential. The objective is to reach the objective set by the March 2002 Barcelona European Council, to increase the average research investment level from 1.9% of GDP today to 3% of GDP by 2010, of which 2/3 should be funded by the private sector.

To reach the Barcelona objective, research investment in Europe should grow at an average rate of 8% every year, shared between a 6% growth rate for public expenditure and a 9% yearly growth rate for private investment. This is ambitious yet realistic given the strong support given to the objective.

The March 2003 European Council called for the Commission to present this action plan, which has been prepared on the basis of a wide consultation of European institutions, Member States, acceding and candidate countries, as well as stakeholders from industry; public research and finance. The consultation showed a very broad support for the 3% objective. It revealed that most countries are already taking measures to boost investment in research, and that many have set national targets in line with the European 3% objective.

The action plan aims at building on this momentum, ensuring that the necessary initiatives at European and national levels are sustained, mutually consistent and commensurate with the challenge of bringing radical improvements to the European system of research and technological innovation. Europe is facing a situation where the weakest link in the system risks discouraging investment - to give but a few examples: the shortcomings and rigidities of research careers, leading excellent human resources to move out of research or out of Europe; the dispersion and lack of visibility of Europe's often excellent research; the difficulties encountered by technology-intensive SMEs to find financing for their research and innovation projects; or the lack of awareness of researchers and research managers regarding the protection and management of intellectual property.

The action plan complements a series of mutually reinforcing European initiatives aimed at boosting the Union's competitiveness, notably in the fields of enterprise and innovation policy, and of structural reforms in the product, services, capital and labour markets. Together they form the Commission's policy response to the March 2000 Lisbon European Council objective to "make Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-base economy by 2010".

The action plan comprises four main sets of actions.

A first set of actions aims at supporting the steps taken by European countries and stakeholders, ensuring that they are mutually consistent and that they form an effective mix of policy measures. This includes a process of co-ordination with and between Member States and acceding countries. It also entails creating a number of "European technology platforms", which will bring together the main stakeholders - research organisations, industry, regulators, user groups, etc. - around key technologies, in order to devise and implement a common strategy for the development, the deployment and the use of these technologies in Europe.

The second set of actions aims at improving considerably public support to research and technological innovation. In order to invest in research in Europe, enterprises need to find there abundant and excellent teams of researchers, a strong public research well articulated with industry, and effective public financial support, including through fiscal measures. The action plan focuses on actions to improve the career of researchers, to bring public research and industry closer together, and to develop and exploit fully the potential of European and national public financial instruments. For example, the action plan asks public authorities to eliminate by 2005 the current rules and practices, attached to many public funding schemes, which prevent trans-European cooperation and technology transfer and thus reduce considerably the research and innovation opportunities available to the beneficiaries.

A third set of actions addresses the necessary increase in the levels of public funding for research. Given the current economic downturn, it is all the more important to ensure that budgetary policies favour investments that will lead to higher sustainable growth in the future, among which research is a strong priority. Actions focus on encouraging and monitoring the redirection of public budgets, and on making full use of the possibilities for public support to industry offered by State aid rules and public procurement rules. For example, the action plan proposes to clarify and improve awareness of the types of public support that public authorities can use with no distortion to competition

Lastly, a fourth set of actions aims at improving the environment of research and technological innovation in Europe: intellectual property protection, regulation of product markets and related standards, competition rules, financial markets, the fiscal environment, and the treatment of research in companies' management and reporting practices. For example, the action plan sets the objective that every student in science, engineering and business should receive at least a basic training on intellectual property and technology transfer.

The action plan marks the start of a process. Progress will be monitored and the Commission and Council will give further orientations in the future, if appropriate, to keep the Union on track. However, there is little time to succeed and the gap is still growing rapidly between Europe and its major trading partners. Implementation must start immediately at all levels, and it must be driven with a clear vision that what is at stake is the success or failure of Europe's ambition to become the most vibrant place for innovation-driven growth and employment creation.