Brussels, 25/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The communication entitled "Regional Policy contributing to smart growth in EUROPE 2020" recommends a more effective use of the European regional funds to help to give a shot in the arm to innovation and to meet the objectives of the strategy EU 2020 for smart growth. As regards the regional structural funds, 86% (or a quarter of the total) were allocated to research and innovation between 2007 at 2013. Three quarters were financed by the ERDF (a total of 65 billion euros). However, the performance and innovation and the absorption of the funds varied considerably between the 27 member states of the EU.
This communication was adopted by the Commission on 6 October and presented on 12 October to the “Competitiveness” Council in Luxembourg by Johannes Hahn, the Commissioner for Regional Policy. It adds to the "One Union for Innovation" initiative (EUROPE 10230): it calls upon the political decision-makers of the member states at all levels to act without delay in order to invest a greater proportion of the resources of the ERDF for the current programming period in smart growth.
This communication lists a raft of recommendations to fight against regional disparities and encourages the highest levels of investment in the regions in terms of innovation. In these, the Commission presents a list of the fields in which rapid progress can be made, such as regional growth clusters, an environment favourable to innovation for SMEs, more attention to loans and own capital, regional research infrastructures and attractive skills centres at regional level, the digital strategy of the EU, creativity and cultural industries as sectors of growth.
In its conclusions, the Commission notes that it will be necessary to wait for the forthcoming multi-annual financial framework in order to look into making in-depth changes to the functioning of regional policy. It stresses that, in the final years of the current programming period, the member states and the regions can already start to make changes to their practices.
The annex to the communication proposes:
actions to achieve the smart growth objectives laid down in the strategy EU 2020 by means of regional policy and its funding: (1) creating smart specialisation strategies, (2) making greater use of financial engineering instruments to support innovation, (3) making use of the opportunity (made available by article 37, paragraph 6, point b of EC regulation 1083/2006) to finance inter-regional cooperation in order to promote research, (4) making use of the opportunities made available by public procurement contracts co-funded by the ERDF to increase the innovation content of products, procedures and services, (5) making more systematic use of examinations by independent specialists recognised internationally by their peers for research projects, (6) considering using the ERDF to fund a number of projects adapted or pre-selected under the seventh framework programme and the CIP, and (7) making use of the possibilities to improve regional innovation policy, made available by peer learning opened up by the platforms and networks of the 7th framework programme, the CIP and INTERREG IVC.
actions to be carried out by the Commission: (1) making it easier to create and apply smart specialisation strategies by the national and regional authorities in: - establishing a "smart specialisation platform"; - providing data, strategic analysis and information on the results from R&D and specialisation from a European point of view; - establishing mutual learning platforms; (2) helping the member states and the regions to create teaching, R&D and innovation projects through the transfer of knowledge and the dissemination of best practice, with the help of the "Regions for Economic Change" initiative (including the Regio Stars); (3) working in close corporation with the financial institutions to leverage funding and maximise the use of the existing financial instruments, for example by making more intensive use of JEREMIE to provide venture capital and guarantees to stimulate innovation in SMEs and young technology-based companies; (4) promoting the commercial opportunities of SMEs, by consolidating and reinforcing the Enterprise Europe Network whose partners should, in turn, help the organisations to make better use of the ERDF funds for innovation; and (5) improving the consistency and complementarity of EU policies in the fields of education, research and innovation. (G.B./trans.fl)