The planned enlargement of the European Union is an economic as well as a political opportunity, both for current Member States and for the 13 candidate countries. The priorities of the accession process are control of inflation and budget deficits, market liberalisation, and harmonisation with EU standards. But it will also be essential to strengthen the innovative capacity of these fragile economies if they are to participate fully in European prosperity in the long term. It may even offer a solution to the pressing problems of industrial restructuring.
nowledge-based innovation will be the principal driver of industrial renewal and economic growth in Europe in the coming decades, and is now a central focus of enterprise policy in the Member States as well as at EU level. Progress towards accession has exposed the overmanned, outdated and bureaucratic state-run industries of the central and eastern European countries (CEECs) to entirely new competitive pressures. What part can innovation play in the necessary but painful adjustments being made by the
CEECs and the other applicant countries? What are their governments doing to foster innovation as a source of new competitiveness and employment, and to identify and remove the barriers which impede it?
In May 2000, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Enterprise commissioned a study to assess the current climate for innovation in six candidate countries - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia(1). "The Commission services attach a great deal of importance to this work," says José-Ramón Tíscar of the Innovation Policy Unit. "The final report, which will be available in September, will identify and analyse key issues in each country and outline a range of policy scenarios. We expect it to stimulate serious debate in these countries, and to give their policy-makers a powerful tool for assessing and specifying additional measures in this field."
January 2001
INNOVATION IN SIX ACCESSION COUNTRIES
nowledge-based innovation will be the principal driver of industrial renewal and economic growth in Europe in the coming decades, and is now a central focus of enterprise policy in the Member States as well as at EU level. Progress towards accession has exposed the overmanned, outdated and bureaucratic state-run industries of the central and eastern European countries (CEECs) to entirely new competitive pressures. What part can innovation play in the necessary but painful adjustments being made by the