A Brand New European Innovation Agenda

The European Union’s New Innovation Agenda For Competitiveness And Prosperity, Beginning With The Goals Explored Right Here By Maurizio Mensi Of The European Economic And Social Committee

Promoting Europe’s competitiveness and the well-being of its residents by bridging the hole between Member States and their areas: that is the primary goal of the New European Innovation Agenda proposed by the European Commission in July 2022 to resolve the “European Paradox”, a restricted capacity to show scientific discoveries into industrial and industrial success. Digital sovereignty and technological independence, points to which the EU is strongly dedicated, are intently linked to the standard of analysis and innovation.

Innovation is a course of based mostly on interplay and collaboration between private and non-private stakeholders. It includes analysis centres, universities, firms, organizations and authorities companies and nurtures an ecosystem of information, abilities and particular person and collective capacities, fueled by scientific analysis and its functions. Economic incentives, schooling techniques and the regulatory framework all play a job on this course of. The diploma of innovation in a rustic additionally determines the extent of growth and the financial and social dimension. The tradition of innovation, usually referred to within the public debate, contains values, norms and behavioral fashions.

Since the Sixties, the European Commission has regarded innovation as a vital a part of analysis coverage. Yet it is just because the Seventies that it has linked it to industrial coverage by way of financing, coaching, tax incentives, requirements and mental property rights. In 2000, the adoption of the Lisbon technique gave new impetus to innovation coverage with the “knowledge economy” and the mixing of actions at central and regional stage. The most important drawback is the fragmentation of coverage throughout Member States and areas because of completely different native regulatory frameworks, governance and coverage devices. Since innovation coverage is primarily the accountability of the areas, the simplest stage of intervention (EU, nationwide, regional) to enhance coordination and scale back the territorial divide must be redefined.

The New European Innovation Agenda

The New European Innovation Agenda contains the entire above, structured round 5 flagship initiatives. Firstly, the brand new agenda focuses on closing the “scale-up” and “deep-tech” gaps that presently exist within the EU in comparison with third nations the place growth-stage know-how firms are extra prevalent and on the significance of financing experiments and testing infrastructures to help start-ups. In addition, there may be the proposal to create “regional innovation valleys” to strengthen and higher join innovation actors, even in areas lagging behind, by attracting and retaining expertise by way of coaching and rising help for feminine innovators.

Also essential is the proposal to prioritize inter-regional innovation initiatives associated to the primary EU priorities (corresponding to sustainability), with the joint participation of the least and most revolutionary areas. In addition to boosting start-ups, the Commission desires to make the entire industrial system, together with conventional firms, revolutionary, particularly within the present local weather the place Europe is dealing with world challenges (6G, synthetic intelligence, quantum computing, digital currencies and the metaverse) in competitors with nations that don’t share the identical values ​​and don’t assure comparable rights to residents and corporations.

An Built-in System

As demonstrated through the COVID-19 disaster, success tales are based mostly on built-in techniques the place innovation and analysis are supported by well-defined guidelines and procedures aligned with probably the most superior innovation instruments (as is the case in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, for instance) and Israel). Innovation can be about democracy. In reality, it’s a matter of deciding how and what guidelines to use to know-how to allow residents to make use of it consciously and responsibly as probably the most superior digital instruments more and more affect consensus-building mechanisms and probably the most intimate sphere of contact people.

For instance, the widespread proliferation of Quantum Computing might revolutionize the whole decision-making system. In addition to the “simple” growth of the computing energy of AI, Quantum Computing introduces a qualitative novelty. While “traditional” algorithmic processes are deterministic and their outputs can all the time be predetermined, the outcomes of Quantum Computing should not totally comprehensible based mostly on the predefined inputs and guidelines.

Suppose that the data of the algorithm, as a person proper, is among the central components of EU draft laws on AI with Quantum Computing. In that case, that is not potential, with main penalties for the transparency, accountability and predictability of the tip end result.

Public Regulation And Democracy

In reality, this means the necessity to adapt our consolidated democratic mechanisms to the “disruptive innovation” that’s nonetheless ongoing, redefining procedures, strategies and instruments.

For instance, we have to replace the sector of public regulation challenged by technological evolution, by defining high quality requirements and applicable identification and measurement instruments. Moreover, given the longer term digital identification (which is able to enable anybody to certify their identification with a public or personal entity with out having to current any doc), it’s not sufficient to transform the present procedures and techniques to digital mode; the latter must be recalibrated to keep away from pointless formalities and checks, enhance interoperability and streamline the completely different phases and make them extra environment friendly. Above all, regional and native establishments ought to simplify native guidelines and facilitate their implementation by introducing linkage and management mechanisms between the completely different entities.

In conclusion, we’re on the verge of a completely new and undefined world, and the European Union is exhibiting its consciousness of this with its new agenda. It takes greater than having state-of-the-art analysis laboratories. A really revolutionary system ought to be geared up with speedy operational mechanisms based mostly on clear and accessible procedures, with outlined tasks for the completely different gamers concerned. Under these circumstances, Europe will make the specified quantum leap by way of effectivity, competitiveness and socio-economic cohesion.