Council requests prompt action on EIT, JTIs and IPR strategy
Europe's Heads of State and Government reacted positively to the Commission's proposals for the establishment of a European Institute of Technology (EIT) when they met in Brussels on 14 and 15 December. While Europe's leaders had welcomed the proposal previously, they had also been cautious, asking for clarification on the financing of the initiative. In the latest meeting, they called on the Council and the European Parliament to 'move swiftly to adopt, in 2007, a decision to set up the European Institute of Technology.' They should do this after having carried out a thorough examination of the Commission's proposal, state the European Council's conclusions. The European Council also invited the Commission to rapidly make proposals for the setting up of Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs), with a view to launching the most advanced ones in 2007. JTIs are long-term public-private partnerships intended to boost technology in specific fields, and will receive funding from the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), as well as from the European Investment Bank (EIB). Also considered as being of key importance to innovation are intellectual property rights (IPR). The Council therefore called upon the Commission to present a comprehensive IPR strategy in the course of 2007, addressing issues such as the quality of the current IPR system. The fourth innovation priority that the European Council chose to emphasise was standards. 'The Commission is invited, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, to propose action for the improvement of the working methods and overall resources of European standardisation bodies. Standards must be developed quickly enough to meet the needs of fast-moving markets, whilst ensuring interoperability,' read the conclusions. Other items discussed at the Council included the Constitutional Treaty, enlargement strategy, migration, energy and climate change and external relations.