UNICE report on the Lisbon strategy: 'time is running out, action needed now'
UNICE, the union of industrial and employers confederations of Europe, has sent a letter to the upcoming Greek Council President expressing its concerns about the state of competitiveness in Europe. The letter appears in the UNICE annual assessment of progress towards the Lisbon objective, which aims to make Europe the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. The report, entitled 'time is running out, action needed now', warns of an 'implementation delivery gap', and provides policy recommendations for EU institutions and national governments. UNICE President Georges Jacobs said: 'We are at a crossroads, either we want to pursue the Lisbon objectives seriously or we do not. The position of business is definitely a resounding yes. We expect EU institutions and Member States to deliver on their promises promptly in order to offer Europeans a successful and sustainable model of Europe.' According to the report, the European economy is failing to break out of its lethargic state, and part of the reason is that the EU has not managed to become its own motor for growth, and remains widely dependent on the outside world. Therefore, it urges policy makers 'to focus on the real problems of our economy'. Five key areas for action are highlighted by UNICE: entrepreneurship, innovation, the single market, human resources, and sustainable development. For each area, the report presents a number of initiatives that it would like to see implemented at a national or European level. In order to foster entrepreneurship, the report calls for the spirit of enterprise to be promoted throughout society, and for risk-takers to be rewarded. José Maria Cuevas, President of the Spanish confederation of employers' organisations, said: 'Entrepreneurial spirit is essential for a more dynamic enterprise culture in Europe and must therefore be enhanced throughout the education process.' Mr Cuevas' comments echo remarks made by Erkki Liikanen, Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society, in October when addressing the issue of Europe's entrepreneurial deficit: 'Entrepreneurial attitudes and skills can be encouraged in young people from school to university. Entrepreneurship should be promoted as an attitude [...] through the development of personal qualities such as creativity, risk-taking and responsibility.' To increase Europe's innovation potential, the UNICE report calls for specific action to adopt a Community patent, and makes recommendations in the fields of research and biotechnology. UNICE calls on the EU Presidency to ensure that the Competitiveness Council adopts a Community patent according to its own timetable of spring 2003, after having assessed whether or not its current proposal will be competitive with the US and Japanese systems. Otherwise, the report states, 'UNICE will seriously consider withdrawing its support and concentrate its efforts on improving the current European patent system.' In the field of research and development (R&D), UNICE is keen to see more being done in order to achieve the Barcelona goal of increasing research spending to 3 per cent of GDP. Specifically, the report recommends: - the establishment of a regulatory environment that attracts more private R&D investment; - more coherent national research policies in order to avoid a duplication of efforts; - increased public financing for research and more effective use of the funds; - the encouragement of young people's, especially girls', interest in science; - turning the 'brain drain' into 'brain gain' by attracting non-EU researchers to Europe. In conclusion, the UNICE report says that the current economic slowdown must not be used as an excuse for watering down the Lisbon goals and agenda: 'On the contrary, the clock is ticking: the Lisbon strategy must integrate the candidate countries and thus gain new impetus from enlargement.'