Finland has practical ideas for facilitating breakthrough innovation in the creation of new products and services.
Former new technology entrepreneur Juha Sipilä, who is Finland’s prime minister, unveiled the ideas on Wednesday 16 May at an informal dinner of European leaders partly devoted to research and innovation.
In a paper that this newsletter has seen, Finland asks the European Commission to put forward, ahead of the European Summit in June, an ‘enlarged approach’ to breakthrough innovation to 'complete’ the European Innovation Council pilot phase that is currently being implemented as part of the current Horizon 2020 European research programme.
The Finnish paper says the proposal should contain an appropriate structure, terms of reference, a budget and a source of finance. The document states that the European Innovation Council pilot phase, which currently has €2.7 billion in funding, should ‘better rationalise’ initiatives taken at national and European level and make harmonious use of EU financial instruments.
The Finnish ideas add to a Franco-German initiative that was also unveiled at the European leaders’ dinner (see EUROPE 12023). They will be fleshed out ahead of the June summit. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)