Brussels, 19/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Grenoble, the French capital of the Alps, was the location for a special mini-summit on research and innovation in the EU on 7 February attended by ministers from six member states. The summit issued a statement listing seven key steps for encouraging the development of KETs (key enabling technologies) in the EU research and development programme “Horizon 2020.”
The ministers say that KETs will play a leading role in economic growth in the European Union. They are defined as micro- and nanoelectronics, photonics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, advanced material and advanced manufacturing systems, which will be at the heart of EU industrial competitiveness, according to the statement. Two French ministers (Geneviève Fioraso and Arnaud Montebourg), a federal German minister (Annette Schavan), an Italian minister (Francesco Profumo) and three secretaries of state (one each from Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom) say they are planning to promote all the measures initially set out by a high-ranking European Commission group of experts.
They say the EU must run big KETs initiatives in 2014-2020, in order to ensure development and fundamental research on manufacturing processes to lead to new products. This will require suitable support form the Horizon 2020 programme through the introduction of coherent strategic programming, but the new R&D programme (Horizon 2020) is only one of the funds that can be used in this connection, as the signatories also call for aid from the European Investment Bank, the EU Structural Funds and suitable state aid for research (the Almunia package). The Commission and the member states are urged to ensure the development of a regulatory and standards framework within the EU to encourage investment in KETs. (JK/transl.fl)