Europe Advised To Bolster InnovationEurope Advised To Bolster Innovation

LONDON — A group of experts has advised Europe to use standards and public spending to bolster research and innovation in Europe. The group has urged European leaders to take radical action to “before it is too late.”

The four-person group, chaired by former prime minister of Finland Esko Aho, has called for the ambitious use of standards and public procurement to drive demand and create a more innovation-friendly market in Europe.

In a final report submitted to the European Commission Friday (Jan. 20) the group also called for a “Pact for Research and Innovation” to be signed by political, business and social leaders to show their commitment to creating a more innovative Europe.

Several recommendations are also made to reverse a fall in venture capital investment in Europe which the European Commission said was 946 million euro in 2004 (about $1.16 billion) compared to 5.37 billion euro (about $6.59 billion) in 2002 and 9.66 billion euro (about $11.86 billion) in 2000.

The group was set up in December 2005 and is composed of Esko Aho, the former prime minister of Finland; Jozef Cornu, former president and chief operating officer of Alcatel Telecom;, Luke Georghiou, a professor at the Manchester Business School of the University of Manchester and Antoni Subir, a professor at the IESE Business School (Barcelona)

The report was available at http://europa.eu.int/invest-in-research when this story was first posted.