Vendredi 05 novembre 2010
The new Innovation Union strategy a flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy gives insufficient weight to industry, according to Jean-Claude Marcourt, President of the EUs Competitiveness Council and Minister of Economy, Wallonia, speaking at the opening of the Europe INNOVA conference dedicated to addressing societal challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation.
Mr Marcourt reported that while the EU Member State delegations at the recent EU Competitiveness Council welcomed the European Commissions Innovation Union communication, the majority regretted that not enough attention is being given to industry.
Innovation is not just about technology. It is about the response to our needs in terms of climate change, the ageing population and also the economic crisis, he said.
Pointing to the important role European regions can play in relaunching competitiveness through innovation, he added: In the future, regions will have an important role in stimulating innovation, particularly through intelligent specialisation.
The Walloon region has been a pioneer in the development of competitiveness clusters which bring entrepreneurs, researchers and other stakeholders together in focused industrial concentrations such as aerospace, agro-industry, health, mechanical engineering, and transport & logistics.
Such partnerships are the basis for spreading innovation through the economic fabric, Mr Marcourt said. Numerous enterprises are embracing innovation in the context of competitive industrial clusters.
Addressing the conference, Heinz Zourek, Director General of the European Commissions DG Enterprise and Industry, said: There may be innovation with or without research, but not without the entrepreneurs who bring new ideas to the market. Europe does not so much lack innovative ideas but rather entrepreneurs who take risks and want to grow fast.
Original article