Brussels, 28/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 28 October, the European Commission unveiled an ambitious strategy to put Europe in the van of smart internet-powered infrastructure. Taking the view that a public-private partnership is essential if this objective is to be achieved, the Commission will make available a budget of €300 million for 2011-2013 for short-term projects. “The internet can help face the challenges of the future and holds the key to lifting Europe's economy out of the crisis. (…)It is Europe and its businesses that should seize the opportunity and develop these technologies and applications which can tremendously increase the economic and social efficiency of day-to-day processes,” said Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding.
Less congested roads with less pollution, better and more efficient energy delivery or state of the art medical treatment managed at home are typical examples made possible by the internet of the future. By connecting physical objects, such as cars or mobile devices, with infrastructure (for example, traffic management systems), this smart technology will mean that massive amounts of data can be used in real-time to improve the business process and efficiency. The Commission would like to see Europe take the lead and, for this, wants European research to concentrate more on underlying internet technology and its swift application in real life (healthcare, transport, and energy). In the Communication adopted on Wednesday, it proposes a strategy which will see governments and the various economic sectors linked across Europe through collective action by member states and the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector. Not only will the competitiveness of the sector be boosted, European consumers will also be the primary beneficiaries. The Commission will kick-start this public-private partnership with the launch of a call for proposals in 2010. Altogether, €300 million are planned for this initiative over the 2011-2013 period - a figure to be matched by industry. The Commission is already funding research making the internet itself smarter, with €400 million invested in more than 90 European projects under its ICT research programme, and another €200 million a year to be invested from 2011-2013 research budgets. The Communication comes after the wish expressed by the European Council of December 2008 for a European innovation and research plan to be drafted. (I.L./transl.rt)