Structural funds 'key to innovation plan'

EU Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, speaking at the launch, said that the barometer results echoed the Commission's view of the challenges ahead and promised a "raft of bold actions" in the upcoming EU innovation strategy.

"We will promote a broad and inclusive view of innovation, including in business models, in management structures and processes, innovation in how the public sector develops and delivers its services, as well as promoting social innovation," she stated.

Geoghegan-Quinn said that the Commission is exploring how structural funds can be better used to support innovation and recognised the need for action on intellectual property. "31% of all patents emanate from the EU and 31.4% from the US – Europeans therefore are clearly great inventors, but we need to become much better at developing these patents into new products and services," she said.

"The prohibitive cost and complexity of patenting [in the EU] is a crucial issue for innovation," she added.

Irish MEP Sean Kelly (European People's Party), who hosted the results launch, said that Europe must stop taking the lead from the United States – where venture capital, public-private partnerships and effective regulation have made it the world leader in innovation.

"We need to learn from our American partners and foster an EU which has minimal bureaucracy, favours innovative start-ups, especially in the SME sector, and leverages structural funds to maximum effect to create jobs and growth in the future," he said.

During a panel discussion on the Innovation Barometer, Kelly said invention and innovation often start small before being commercialised globally. "We need to ensure that Europe takes its place at the forefront of innovation, to ensure jobs and prosperity for our continent far into the future," he said.

"The Innovation Barometer points a clear path for policymakers as to how to achieve this goal," Kelly concluded.

Dr. Tore Land, director of GE's ecomagination initiative in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said that he is "firmly convinced" that investing in innovation is the answer to the economic challenges facing Europe.

GE is currently increasing its research and development spending and recently launched its €160 million 'ecomagination challenge' to fund and support the emergence of new technologies, he added.

Hans Martens, chief executive of the European Policy Centre (EPC), said that it is a case of "innovating or dying" for Europe in the coming years and called for a new innovation culture in the public sector. The EU should play a bigger regulatory role and create incentives to help drive innovation, he stated.

Patrick Lamot, representing the Belgian EU Presidency, was not optimistic about swift progress on the creation of an EU-wide patent, one of the most significant bottlenecks for innovative products and services in Europe.

The Belgian Presidency is hoping to get consensus on the proposed trilingual patent, he said – but added that the issue "has existed for 50 years" and recalled that the issue was on his country's agenda when it held the EU presidency in 2001.