Innovation
Industry 4.0: The future of manufacturing is here
Est. 1minThe European Commission is preparing an action plan for publication in April to mobilise an estimated €25 billion to harness the potential of the fourth industrial revolution, euractiv.com has learned.
Healthcare innovation: The cost killer?
Est. 1minHealthcare innovations such as eHealth and telemedicine offer new prospects for cost savings and improved quality of care, but expensive new technologies are also driving medical inflation and the benefits may not always be distributed equally.
‘Europe 2020’: Green growth and jobs?
Est. 1minThe EU's new strategy for sustainable growth and job comes in the midst of the worst economic crisis for decades. It puts innovation and green growth at the heart of its blueprint for competitiveness, but will have to include tighter monitoring if it is to succeed where the Lisbon Agenda failed.
EU policymaking: Rooted in science?
Est. 1minEuropean policymakers face a difficult choice when authorising new technologies such as GMOs, as they often find themselves caught between conflicting expert safety advice and calls to respect the precautionary principle when scientific evidence is insufficient.
Competitiveness clusters
Est. 1minThe European Union is seeking to promote clusters of large companies, SMEs, researchers, and other economic actors to help foster innovation, bring together a critical mass of commercial and R&D expertise and get maximum value from investment.
European Year of Creativity and Innovation
Est. 1minThe European Commission has received much praise for putting innovation and creativity at the centre of attention in 2009, but it remains to be seen whether the special year can go beyond mere symbolism and deliver concrete results at a time when Europe is engulfed in a global economic recession.
Public Procurement: Buying Green? [Archived]
Est. 1minThe EU is promoting the use of public procurement in its member states as a means of kick-starting the market for eco-innovative goods and services and achieving its environmental goals in a cost-efficient manner.
Knowledge and technology transfer
Est. 1minEU firms are struggling to better exploit public-funded research and transform findings into patents and innovations that generate growth. Barriers to collaboration between the public and private sectors still exist, in particular when it comes to sharing revenues and costs.
Urban mobility research
Est. 1minUrban-specific research on intelligent transport systems, interoperability and land use planning is being carried out to resolve the multiple problems faced by Europe's bustling cities.
Investing in research
Est. 1minIn line with the goal of creating a European Research Area, the Commission and member states have agreed to increase investment in research and development activities to 3% of GDP by 2010.
Lead markets – gateway to growth?
Est. 1minLead markets are markets in which EU industry can develop a global competitive advantage provided that it gets support from the public sector as regulator, customer and facilitator.
Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP)
Est. 1minIn January 2004 the Commission launched an action plan to stimulate the development and use of environmental technologies. The action plan aims at removing financial, economic and institutional barriers to the development of environmentally friendy technologies. The Commission sees it as a bridge between the EU's sustainable development strategy and the Lisbon agenda.
7th Research Framework Programme (FP7)
Est. 1minThe EU's Seventh framework programme for research and technological development (2007-2013) is designed as a key contribution to the EU's strategy for growth and jobs.
Bridging the ‘digital divide’: EU policies
Est. 1minWidespread access to modern information and communication technologies (internet, TV, telephone) is considered to be a driving factor behind the EU's efforts to become the world's leading knowledge-based economy (Lisbon strategy). However, poverty or lack of basic ICT skills still prevent this ambition from turning into reality, while at the same time effectively barring businesses from potentially highly lucrative markets in the EU-15 as well as in the new member states. Addressing this so-called 'digital divide' could therefore become a key element in the EU's Lisbon strategy for long-term economic growth.
CIP – Competitiveness and Innovation Programme 2007-2013
Est. 1minStimulating the competitiveness of SMEs, fostering and promoting eco-innovation, energy efficiency and renewables, and accelerating the process leading to a fully-fledged information society are the objectives of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme 2007-2013.
SMEs & access to R&D funding
Est. 1minEurope is falling further and further behind the United States in R&D investment. This is mainly due to decreasing R&D investment by European SMEs. Helping SMEs access EU research funding has been a persistent challenge, with critics blaming bureacracy for the low involvement of small firms.
Foreign Direct Investment in R&D
Est. 1minThe EU is currently losing R&D investment to other countries. In 2001 the net outflow of R&D funding from the EU amounted to over six billion euro. The Commission thinks that the FP7 can provide the necessary framework conditions to attract more foreign R&D investment.
6th Research Framework Programme (FP6)
Est. 1minThe 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (6th FP) is the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe. Adopted on 3 June 2002 and implemented on 1 January 2003, the programme covers the period 2002-2006 with a total budget of 17.5 billion euro.
Risk-based policy-making
Est. 1minRecent debates on issues such as GMOs and the review of the European chemicals policy have sparked heated discussions among stakeholders about the analysis and assessment of the underlying risks and the way in which these can be managed and communicated. Questions about the definition of risk, the objectivity of scientific information and the role that risk analysis should play in policy decisions are at the heart of the debates.
eEurope – An Information Society for All
Est. 1mineEurope was launched in December 1999 to ensure the EU fully benefits from the changes the Information Society is bringing. eEurope's key objectives are to bringing every citizen, home and school, every business and administration, into the digital age and online. It plans to create a digitally literate Europe, supported by an entrepreneurial culture ready to finance and develop new ideas. eEurope also wants to ensure the whole process is socially inclusive, builds consumer trust and contributes to social cohesion.