Ministers gathered in Brussels this week (26 May) to shape the strategy agreed that the combined efforts of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and encouragement for private venture capital funds is fundamental to boosting innovation.
Member states also want the EU executive to look at whether technology-oriented stock markets, such as the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London, could be used to stimulate growth and entrepreneurship in Europe.
However, venture capital reacted by saying that the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), currently being debated by finance ministers and MEPs, threatens to make life difficult for some small firms.
"The Council's timing is impeccable. The call for efforts to create the right conditions for a healthy European venture capital market that supports innovative start-ups comes as the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU finance ministers begin talks on Monday over draft legislation that would do the opposite," said Uli Fricke, chairwoman-elect of the European Venture Capital Association (EVCA).
She said companies backed by venture capital would face "punitive disclosure requirements".
Ministers set focus of innovation plan
The Council of Ministers wants the research and innovation plan, which the Commission will publish in the autumn, to focus on five major areas: the financial sector, markets, governance, regional priorities and people.
Much of what is proposed is in line with what the Commission has already indicated will feature in the final draft of the plan. The Council and Commission also support refocusing public procurement to support innovative SMEs and developing the market for novel technologies.
In keeping with the Creativity and Innovation Manifesto produced last year as part of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, the value of "non-technological innovation," including design and innovation in the cultural sector, is stressed.
Ministers called on the Commission to find new ways to attract foreign innovators to Europe and to use regional funds to stimulate R&D.
Geoghegan-Quinn's recent efforts to streamline research funding also met with a positive response.
Separately, the Competitiveness Council called on the Commission to prepare Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) on a range of new areas, including water, microbiology, marine science, climate knowledge, urban Europe and the demographic challenge.
