Mentalities must change if we want to remain competitive, informal Competitiveness Council concludes
The Lisbon goals, the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and European technological platforms were all on the agenda at an informal Competitiveness Council designed to kick-start the Dutch Presidency of the EU in Maastricht, the Netherlands, on 1 July. The key conclusion was that the European business mindset must change if the EU wants to remain competitive on the global scene, explained the meetings co-chairs Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, and Maria van der Hoeven, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, at a press conference on 3 July. 'This was a very interesting and informative Council where we discussed how to get Europe moving again,' said Mr Brinkhorst. The general spirit was that the Lisbon objective of making the EU the world's most competitive economy by 2010 is not outdated and is as important as ever, he added. The discussions, explained the two Dutch ministers, revolved around the double themes of research and enterprise and how to encourage innovation. The evaluation of FP6 was high on the Council's agenda, and it was clear that the framework programmes will need some simplification 'because SMEs [small and medium sized enterprises] cannot find their way around the procedures and the programmes are too over-subscribed 'said Mr Brinkhorst. 'SMEs simply do not have time to lose on all this paperwork.' Both ministers insisted that the framework programme must be more focused in certain key areas. On the subject of the FP6 budget, the general consensus of the meeting was that the EU must increase the research budget by relocating funds from other policy areas, added the ministers. Ms van der Hoeven revealed that research-intensive SMEs would be a top priority on the Competitiveness Council agenda during the Dutch Presidency. 'The situation is different from one country to the next and many decisions cannot be taken at European level, however we need to do more in terms of cooperation between universities and SMEs. We can recognise our common problems at European level and exchange best practises.' 'We need to focus on spin offs and financing for venture capitalists,' added Mr Brinkhorst. In the US, said Mr Brinkhorst, everyone understands that when you take a risk, there is the possibility of failure. In Europe, however, if you take a risk and fail you are almost criminalised. 'This must change - we must change mindsets to make Europe more innovative, and one way of doing this is to explain to Europeans the risks they take by not changing. We must move towards the US model.' On the issue of translating the EU's competitiveness goals into results, Mr Brinkhorst added: 'The problem with Europe, is not that we don't know what we are doing, but that we should stick to what we say.' Turning their attention to European technological platforms, the two ministers agreed that while some were less successful, others, like the hydrogen platform, were very useful. The goal of those platforms, explained Ms van der Hoeven, is to bring together three pillars: industry, universities and governments. This clustering of activities, however, must always be industry driven, she said. Ms van der Hoeven believes that Europe must develop stronger links between industry and universities for innovation valorisation and that choices often come down to money and what to prioritise. The Netherlands, explained the Education and Research Minister, is about to change its university funding system so that part of the money goes to innovation valorisation. 'We will suggest that this is also applied at the European level,' she added. Mr Brinkhorst closed the press conference by quoting a fellow minister who said during the council: ''I feel that Maastricht belongs a little bit to all of us' - This is what we like to hear,' he said.
Countries
Netherlands