Brussels, 10/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 10 October, Lithuania's Minister for Education and Science Dainius Pavalkis opened the 2013 Innovation Summit, which was organised by think tank The Lisbon Council and Nesta - a body specialising in support to innovation. During the event, the Lisbon Council and Nesta presented a plan for innovation in Europe- Plan I(nnovation) for Europe: Delivering Innovation-led, Digitally-powered Growth - which listed recommendations for the development of a solid and sustainable structure.
The objective of the summit was to identify the conditions needed for sustained economic recovery in Europe, driven by digital technology - and this, ahead of the upcoming European Council on 24-25 October, which will focus on the European digital agenda. The Innovation Summit was attended by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and high level representatives from. They institutions of the European Union, from the member states and from international companies who discussed a European roadmap for the 21st Century building on innovation and new technology. Pavalkis recalled that the Lithuanian Presidency has placed innovation and competitiveness at the top of its working agenda and he stated: “There is a shared understanding among economists that research and innovation are critical to fuel the growth, competitiveness and job creation that Europe needs. We must learn from the lessons of the crisis and build a more resilient economy, capable of generating deep and lasting competitiveness”. In his view, significant effort must be made on cross-border cooperation and mutual understanding, and links must be created between economic circles and the world of higher education in order to support the emergence of a really competitive Europe, based on innovation. (IL/transl.fl)