Liikanen sets out strategy for future innovation and mobile technology
Attending two conferences in Denmark on 29 January, EU Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Technology, Erkki Liikanen, spoke of Europe's future on the mobile telecommunications market and the role of public policy in an enlarging Europe. At the inauguration of the Centre for TeleInFrastructure (CTIF) in Aalborg, Mr Liikanen identified the key points of a strategy for regaining European leadership in mobile technology. According to the Commissioner, ETSI and the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) are crucial elements in reaching this goal. They must be at the forefront of technical advance and strive to achieve network and device interoperability, he said. The EU, in return, and depending on the needs of industry, will assist with funding under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). Mr Liikanen reminded his audience that out of the 3.6 billion euro dedicated to Information Society Technologies (IST) under FP6, a substantial amount is set aside for mobile communications technologies. The European Commission is intent on reinforcing 'European strengths in areas where it has established industrial and technology leadership: This is the case, for example, in mobile and wireless communications,' said Mr Liikanen. Another concern is 'to overcome weaknesses in areas that are critical for European competitiveness and for addressing societal challenges. This is the case, for example, in the area of generic software and computing systems, and in content development tools. We also aim to ensure the co-evolution of technology and applications so that technology advances are exploitable in innovative products and services. Particular attention will be paid to users' needs and to usability and accessibility of technologies and applications,' said the Commissioner. 'For the forthcoming EU Seventh Research Framework Programme, the CEOs of the major mobile Communication companies have agreed to propose a strategic research agenda with special emphasis on large-scale distributed mobile interoperability testing and evolution of current mobile systems beyond 3G,' Mr Liikanen added. In Copenhagen, Mr Liikanen discussed 'innovation and opportunities in the enlarging Europe'. In his address, Mr Liikanen focused on the need to take into account the differences between East and West for a more competitive Europe. Combining Eastern and Western capabilities is key to industrial integration through innovation, he claimed. Although it is mainly the responsibility of businesses to face up to those challenges, public policy can also make a positive contribution, stated the Commissioner. 'Building strong universities and public research centres is certainly necessary as these can stimulate regional clusters of knowledge-based activities. But government R&D and business R&D are not the same; public R&D is not a substitute for private R&D and innovation. We should think about new ways to manage structural funds in a way that encourages companies in the target regions to execute themselves a larger share of research, innovation and training,' explained Mr Liikanen, while reiterating the need for strong cooperation between companies and public authorities. Mr Liikanen went on to insist on the importance of developing and adopting information and communications technologies (ICT). According to research by the European Commission, one of the main reasons behind the productivity gap between Europe and the United States is weaknesses in organisational innovation.