EU says the future of Europe lies in knowledge management

"It's a great pleasure to be with you in the splendour of Dublin Castle. This is a tremendous opportunity for me to engage with Ireland's leaders, as represented here in the National Forum on Europe. Given the broad spectrum of political opinion represented here today, I can hardly think of a more appropriate assembly with whom to engage about the future of the European Union.

The future I refer to is our development as a global knowledge power, and the role of Ireland in the fulfilment of this goal.

So why is Europe's aim to be a leading knowledge-based economy so vital? The answer is simple: we count on achieving this ambition to provide our citizens with prosperity, a sound environment and a fair society. That is the aim of the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs and the number one policy priority of the EU.

We want to improve our quality of life and remain globally competitive. If we think about how best to achieve that, we can consider cutting costs or improving our productivity.

Looking at the costs, then there are limited possibilities. I've not met many people who really want to drive down wages or drastically cut back on our social security standards. And even after we've made improvements in the flexibility and mobility of our labour markets, and we've engaged in reforms to cope with the ageing of our population, we will not have done enough to keep up with our international competitors.

So we don't have much of a choice; we must increase our productivity. That means we have to create and apply new knowledge. And if we want to do that, there are three things that we have to improve: education, research and innovation.

Europe and the rest of the world face other major challenges, such as securing adequate supplies of energy, while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. So we need new products and processes for more efficient use of fossil fuels and the development of viable renewable energy sources. We also need reliable science on which to base sound decisions to mitigate and adapt to the environmental effects of human activities. Therefore, we need our investments in education, research and innovation to provide solutions.

You can like globalisation or you can hate it, but you can't ignore it! The Lisbon Agenda is Europe's response to these challenges.

Every current policy of the EU makes its contribution to this effort and is affected by it. To use for a moment a symbol of Ireland, every policy is a string in the harp of the Lisbon Agenda. And research and innovation form the crosspiece of the Lisbon harp, to which every string is attached.

Research policy puts education, science and innovation at the service of all other policies to achieve the Lisbon goals. Conversely, our policies on industry, economy, internal market, employment, information society, energy, environment, external relations, etc. all affect and contribute to the circumstances for innovation.

If we pitch our policies well, we can produce a beautiful sound. But if we neglect to tune up, we risk a discordant noise.

Therefore, no matter what your interests or expertise, everyone in this room should be rightly concerned about the state of education, research and innovation in Ireland and in the EU as a whole.

Fulfilling the Lisbon Agenda for Growth and Jobs requires us to structure and enrich the environment in which European science and know-how can thrive. This means marshalling our often disjointed efforts in research, training, entrepreneurship and finance. It also means capitalising on Europe's diversity and encouraging regional specialisations.

We are striving to achieve this through the development of the European Research Area:

Where researchers, technology and knowledge circulate freely;
Where qualifications, experience, and social security rights of knowledge workers are portable across borders;
Where networks of scientists have access to world-class infrastructure and facilities, and to which foreign researchers are drawn and retained;
And where structured partnerships are formed with industry, to meet their needs for new products, processes and services, as well as for skilled employees.
The European Research Area (or ERA, as it is known) is a pillar of Europe's Lisbon ambition, and its realisation is indispensable and urgent. The progress that the European Community is making to develop the ERA can be seen in many activities that we have already started:

We have boosted the average annual funding for the Framework Programmes for Research by 40% in real terms, providing a total of € 53 billion during 2007-2013.

We have responded to the calls for support to basic research by creating an independent European Research Council, providing support to world-class science by individual scientists and teams.

We have enabled and overseen the creation of more than 30 European Technology Platforms that bring together various stakeholders around specific research agendas, plus several networks of national research programmes, the so-called ERA-NETs.

We have encouraged Joint Technology Initiatives to create public-private partnerships that will drive support to entrepreneurs.

Furthermore, a general approach has been agreed for the creation of a European Technology Institute, to foster the creation of knowledge and innovation communities.

These are all actions in which Irish researchers, organisations and the government have actively participated.

To all this I should add the adoption of an innovation strategy that addresses the question of state aid for R&D, venture capital, tax incentives, European patents and lead markets. I should also mention the establishment of a Competitiveness and Innovation Programme, plus a renewed look at the use of regional Structural Funds for research purposes.

However, it is important that we all understand that these measures are not nearly enough. It is not European Community efforts alone that can lead to a strong European Research Area. Far from it!

The impacts of all of the initiatives I have mentioned above depend crucially on the support and contributions of the Member States and their regions. It is there that the greatest efforts in public research are made and where the vast bulk of public resources lie.

Between 2007 and 2013 the Framework Programmes for Research and Development will spend € 53 billion at European level in a variety of targeted activities. But this is a small fraction – some 5% - of the EU public research effort. So we look to the EU Member States to bring together their programmes, and the private sector to increase its innovation spending.

Despite all our good intentions, all our activities and some real progress, our improvement is much too slow. Our competitors are not standing still in the meantime and we need to run to keep up.

Take, for instance, private sector R&D spending. According to the 2007 edition of our annual scoreboard of company R&D investment, EU-based companies have increased their R&D investment by 7.4% over the previous year. However, worldwide corporate R&D investment has grown in the same period by 10%.

We have real areas of excellence in Europe and some world-beating companies, in areas like telecommunications and pharmaceuticals. But in general, we continue to trail behind our major competitors and are being overtaken by the emerging economies.

The Commission cannot - and does not wish to - impose the ERA. A genuine European Research Area will only be created if the European Commission, the EU Member States and other stakeholders work together in partnership, with each accepting their responsibility for making it happen.

Without these contributions and strong collaborative efforts we will not make much progress in moving from what we have now: a situation of relative separation, fragmentation and dispersion of effort, towards the desired state of coherence, coordination and credibility.

And the Republic of Ireland has its part to play in this story.

This country is known for its great literature, so I want to continue with a direct quotation from a very important recent work of Irish non-fiction, which goes like this:

'Ireland by 2013 will be internationally renowned for the excellence of its research, and will be to the forefront in generating and using new knowledge for economic and social progress, within an innovation driven culture.'

No, that's not from William Butler Yeats; it's from your national "Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation". Whether or not you consider it to be poetry, if you reflect on what it means, it is indeed inspirational. It also describes well what Europe needs to achieve if it wants to fulfil the Lisbon Strategy.

Here is how we see your Lisbon efforts; let me know if we are far off the mark. We are impressed in Brussels by the overall positive performance of Ireland in the development of a knowledge-based economy.

The Irish Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy aims to build a world-class research base by concentrating on higher education, links between research institutions and business and increasing R&D efforts by indigenous companies. This is entirely consistent with our calls for action in these domains.

I also note that Ireland is making good progress towards its own 2013 research investment targets. Between 2007 and 2013, public spending on science, technology and innovation is set to triple from the levels in the previous equivalent period.

Total R & D spending across all sectors of the economy in 2006 was an increase of over 14% on 2005. Between 2004 and 2006 gross expenditure on research and development increased by over 26% in nominal terms.

It is also pleasing that despite the rapid growth in the size of the Irish economy, gross expenditure in R&D has been increasing as a proportion of GDP, from 1.1% in 2002 to over 1.3% in 2006 [approaching 1.6% of GNP]. So Ireland is making progress in narrowing the R&D intensity gap with the EU average of 1.8% of GDP in 2006.

However, as you might know, the benchmark target we continue to use for overall R&D intensity in the EU by 2010 is 3.0% of GDP, so that comparison is more sobering, and there is more for all of us to do.

R&D spending in the business sector in Ireland is estimated to have increased by more than 17% over the year to 2006. Nearly 60% of overall R&D expenditure comes from business. However the trend in this proportion has been downwards rather than increasing, but I know you are addressing this.

Spending on R&D activities performed in the higher education sector continued to grow strongly, boosted by increased public funding. Ireland's higher education R&D intensity ratio is now in line with the EU average.

In addition, the appointment of a minister with responsibility for overseeing a coordinated approach to life-long learning is a welcome development, since this is an area where Ireland's performance lags behind many other EU Member States. The level of participation in life-long learning was 7.5% last year, in comparison to the EU target of 12.5%.

Other noteworthy initiatives here in Ireland include the introduction of an Innovation Vouchers system, a grant scheme for Centres for Science, Engineering and Technology and a new round of venture capital funding.

I know that there is more being done. During my stay here I have visited local universities and industrial companies engaged in European research, and I have seen fine examples of the way that Ireland is meeting the challenge.

I can only urge you to sustain – and where possible - increase the pace. Then the rest of the EU will look to you even more as an example.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

Regarding the near future, the EU is approaching a key stage in the development of our activities in fulfilment of the Lisbon Strategy, for several reasons:

Firstly, the recently-agreed Reform Treaty of the European Union contains a significant amendment to the article on research. It will provide an explicit legal basis for the establishment of the European Research Area, which should bolster our efforts.

Secondly, next year we will start a new 3-year cycle for the Lisbon Strategy, with an opportunity to renew and sharpen our focus where there is most need for action.

Thirdly, we will also review our financial perspectives, which might see an adjustment of the spending priorities of the Union.

Fourthly, next year we will start examining the impact of the 7th Framework Programme for Research and how it and future Framework Programmes should evolve over time.

And finally, following the results of a major public consultation this year, I will be bringing forward next year new proposals on the future of the European Research Area.

We are listening, and working on ideas to bring forward soon, based on the messages we have been receiving. So I look forward to your views in our search for a common vision of the future of research and innovation in Europe.

To conclude my address, ladies and gentlemen, the future of the European Union lies in the creation of a true knowledge-based economy. And your leadership will be important for reinforcing our rise as a knowledge power.

The European Commission is ready to play a facilitating, coordinating or integrating role as appropriate.

Together and hopefully soon, we will build through knowledge - and by degrees - a European economy as solid and as magnificent as the edifice in which we now sit.

For as the Irish say, "Castles are built one stone at a time."

Related links to this article:
European Commission

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