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Research and innovation in support of the competitiveness of the European regions
Consistency in the use of the various sources of European funding is a key component of the support given by the European Union (EU) to the social and economic development of its Member States. In this Communication, the Commission formulates a number of guidelines for the national authorities and regions to enable them to combine the cohesion policy programmes more effectively with the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (7th RTD Framework Programme) and the Framework Programme on Competitiveness and Innovation. Furthermore, more effective use of European funds by the Member States and the regions is also advocated.
ACT
Communication from the Commission of 16 August 2007 entitled "Competitive European Regions through Research and Innovation – A contribution to more growth and more and better jobs" [COM(2007) 474 final – Not published in the Official Journal]
SUMMARY
The development of a knowledge economy is one of the key challenges of the renewed Partnership for Growth and Jobs.
The European Union (EU) possesses three key support instruments to respond to this:
The Commission aims through this Communication:
Respecting differences while achieving synergies
The European research, innovation and cohesion policies pursue a common goal: to combine growth with more and better jobs.
The means to achieve this are nevertheless different:
In so doing, the Commission guarantees that, beyond legal differences in approach (geographical scope or thematic scope) and methodological differences (funding through calls for tender or selection by open call for expression of interest, etc.), the various programmes can be used so as to converge towards this common objective.
The measures facilitating interaction between the programmes include harmonisation of the periods of cover (2007-2013).
Towards more synergies between research, innovation and cohesion policies
The Council of the EU ("Competitiveness" Council) and various advisory groups, such as CREST (Scientific and Technical Research Committee of the EU), EURAB (European Research Advisory Board), ESFRI (European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures) and the ITRE committee of the European Parliament, have recently issued recommendations to strengthen the synergies between the research, innovation and cohesion policies:
Better use of European funding
Several measures are considered by the Commission to achieve better use of European funding by the various actors involved in research, innovation and cohesion:
The Commission plans to take stock of the progress made at national and regional level in spring 2009.
Background
Research and innovation offer possibilities both to respond to the many challenges currently facing the EU and to boost economic growth, social responsibility and sustainable development. These two fields are suffering from a shortage of human capital.
Research and innovation are also key instruments for the sustainable management of resources (energy, in particular), to address climate change, and to deal with demographic change. Under globalisation, competitiveness of businesses depends largely on the value added to their goods and services. With this in view, European innovation-based growth has become a top priority under the renewed Lisbon agenda.
Action in favour of innovation is more effective at regional level, as physical proximity fosters the partnerships between actors. The regional clusters play a key role in the promotion of research, technological development and innovation. Regional decision-makers and entrepreneurs are best able to turn knowledge, skills and competencies into sustainable competitive advantage. However, there are significant disparities in means and performance from one region to another. There is therefore a very real risk of a divide.
The common or complementary priorities of the research, innovation and cohesion policies in the context of the Lisbon strategy are:
Last updated: 04.06.2008