THE FIRST European Council meeting devoted to research and innovation will take place in Brussels early next year, when the 27 member states will be asked to endorse the proposals of the EU commissioner for research, innovation and science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.The former Fianna Fáil TD has been given a mandate to build a single-state innovation policy. If she succeeds, the commission expects to create 3.7 million jobs by 2020 and increase annual gross domestic product (GDP) by €795 billion by 2025. Meeting the targets depends on member states allocating 3 per cent of their annual GDP to research and innovation, something only a handful have achieved to date.
As the EU faces its biggest financial crisis, research and innovation is held up as the beacon that will lead us to a new era of recovery. The goal is to compete with the rest of the world in extracting commercial value out of good ideas. But a single state comprised of 27 members faces obstacles absent in more cohesive federal countries like the US.
To read the full, original article click on this link: EU must co-ordinate R&D to compete on global stage - The Irish Times - Fri, Dec 10, 2010
