The document is now expected to be published in June and will fit into the 'EU 2020' strategy for growth and jobs. By that time, a clearer picture will also have emerged of the roles of the new European commissioners.
The first clear sign of a delay came when MEPs grilled incoming Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani at his parliamentary hearing earlier this month.
Tajani, whose services have been working on a draft of the plan, said it could be six months before it is unveiled. Rather than aiming for the spring, as had originally been intended, he said "the summer months" are a more realistic deadline (EurActiv 19/1/10).
He and other commissioners have dropped any reference to the 'Act', preferring to call it an "action plan" or a "strategy".
Even before Christmas, officials close to the drafting process acknowledged that the title of European Innovation Act was unlikely to be used for the final document.
Some had originally hoped to mimic the Small Business Act (SBA), which includes a number of legislative elements as well as guiding principles for boosting smaller companies.
Rethinking responsibility for innovation
The shifting timeline stems from the delay in appointing the new Commission and the changes that will follow the appointment of Máire Geoghegan-Quinn as commissioner with responsibility for innovation.
Geoghegan-Quinn revealed during her hearing that she will chair a sub-group of commissioners working on innovation. She also said she expects to have a role in finalising and implementing the new innovation action plan.
This is likely to bring a broader view of innovation than the business-focused industry commissioner might otherwise have given the strategy. Early indications had suggested it would feature issues such as patent reform, public procurement, competitive clusters, venture capital, the green economy and skills shortages.
The delay in publishing the plan could give rise to a broader definition of innovation, perhaps incorporating some of the proposals contained in the manifesto presented by Ambassadors for Creativity and Innovation, which was presented to the Commission last November (EurActiv 10/11/09).
The Ambassadors emphasised the need to cultivate creativity in the education sector and the importance of design, as well as suggesting that EU structural funds should be used to strengthen investment in research. The latter proposal was backed by Geoghegan-Quinn during her parliamentary hearing (EurActiv 14/01/10).
A number of sources in the innovation policy sphere have stressed the importance of publishing an effective and coherent innovation strategy, but acknowledge that it might prove useful to allow the new Commission some breathing space to ensure that a holistic view of innovation prevails.
