As leaders in business and academia, we are pleased that you are meeting to prioritise innovation in Europe. New ideas, products, services and business models will be critical to bring Europe out of economic malaise. But innovation, as underlined in the European Commission’s recent Innovation Union strategy, requires a consistent, coordinated effort. That has been lacking in Europe.
The challenge is daunting for governments, private sector and academics alike. Europe, where the modern scientific method was invented, is falling behind in both quality and quantity of ideas. The R&D intensity of the European economy, at 1.9% of gross domestic product, lags dangerously behind the US and Japan and is being overtaken by China. Just a quarter of international patents come from the EU, compared to 35% in the US and 31% in Japan. Relatively few European universities score at the top of world league tables. On current trends, within a generation as little as 10% of the world’s new ‘ideas’ – measured in varied ways – may originate in Europe.
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