The Commission’s Innovation Union proposals were endorsed by the EU27 heads of state at their council meeting on Friday (4 February). The time available to discuss the plan was cut short by the more pressing issues of energy security, stabilising the Euro, and unrest in Egypt. But it is clear that measures to promote innovation are now seen as central to attempts to revive national economies and increase Europe’s competitiveness.
This was billed as the first time ever that innovation had made it onto the agenda at an EU Council meeting, but in the end the topic was squeezed into the late afternoon, as EU heads of state dedicated the morning to energy, had a long lunch break in which the 17 members of the single currency discussed governance of the Euro area, and then made time to exchange views on the unrest in Egypt and Tunisia.
As a result, EU leaders focussed only on the headline innovation issues, including the single European patent, completing the European Research Area, joint research programming, moves to create a single European market for venture capital, effective standardisation and using public procurement as a driver of innovation.
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Author: Anna Jenkinson
