Council Resolution of 22 September 2003 on investing in research for European growth and competitiveness
Date: 2003-09-22
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: competitiveness, economic growth, investment, research and development

C 250/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

18.10.2003

rapid access of patients throughout the EU to medicines, in
order to improve the integration of the European market in
this field, while respecting Member States' competencies
and the differences in their health care systems, including
the assessment of the added therapeutic value,

— report regularly to the Council, on the state of competi-
tiveness of the pharmaceutical sector on the basis of the
results of the benchmarking exercises on competitiveness
and public health and of information supplied by Member
States.

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

of 22 September 2003

on investing in research for European growth and competitiveness

(2003/C 250/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

RECALLING the conclusions of
2002
and
respectively;

Brussels

2003

the Lisbon 2000, Barcelona
European Councils, which

REAFFIRMS that investing in research and technological devel-
opment and stimulating innovation and transfer of knowledge
is essential to increasing European competitiveness and to the
strategy set by the Lisbon European Council
for Europe's
economic, social and environmental development and that
there is a particular need to stimulate and improve conditions
for more private investment for research and innovation;

— set a strategic goal for the European Union to become the

most competitive knowledge-based society by 2010,

RECOGNISES that:

— agreed that overall spending on R & D in the Union should
be increased with the aim of approaching 3 % of GDP by
2010 and that two thirds of this investment should come
from the private sector,

forthcoming R & D Action

— urged Member States to take concrete action on the basis of
the Commission's
Plan,
encouraged Member States to speed up the implementation
of the European Charter for Small Enterprises and called for
the momentum behind the European Research Area (ERA)
to be maintained and strengthened by the application of the
open method of coordination in areas such as action
pursuing the 3 % of GDP objective for RTD investment
or developing human resources in science and technology,

‘Towards

the Commission Communications
a European
‘Making ERA a reality’ (2) and ‘More
Research Area’ (1),
research for Europe: Towards 3 % of GDP’ (3), and the
Council Resolutions and Conclusions on ERA,
in particular
the Conclusions of 26 November 2002 on progress made in
the European Research Area and on
the development of
providing it with new momentum (4);

WELCOMES the Commission's Communication ‘Investing in
research: an action plan for Europe’ (5), and ENDORSES the
main message of this communication which calls for a compre-
hensive and coherent range of actions to increase investments
in research and close the gap with Europe's main competitors;

(1) Document 5643/00 RECH 2 ATO 6.
(2) Document 12214/00 RECH 95 ATO 60.
(3) Document 12044/02 RECH 146.
(4) Document 14913/02 RECH 186.
(5) Document 8860/03 RECH 75 + ADD 1.

— investment

in R & D and innovation will contribute to
stimulating growth and employment, taking into account
the Communication of the Commission to the Council and
to the European Parliament on 27 November 2002
(‘Strengthening the coordination of budgetary policies’) (6)
and the conclusions of the European Council of 20-21
March 2003, the Commission communication of 7 July
2003 (‘An initiative
investing in Trans
for growth:
European Networks and major R & D projects’) (7),
the
Council conclusions of 15 July 2003 on a European
action for growth (8) and the ongoing discussions on
these subjects,

— scientific and technological excellence and quality of
research remain basic criteria for increasing and attracting
investment in R & D and innovation,

sufficient

— fundamental research, a broad and dynamic knowledge
base,
resources,
research infrastructures and mechanisms for the efficient
transfer of technology are crucial for the sustainable devel-
opment of the knowledge based society,

high-quality

human

and

contexts,

combining financial

— broad policy mixes, adapted to the respective national and
regional
and
measures to improve framework conditions, are necessary
to stimulate private investment
taking into
account the specific needs of SMEs, in particular new inno-
vative SMEs and spin-off firms, as well as those of larger
firms,

in R & D,

incentives

(6) Document 14997/02 UEM 62.
(7) Document 11343/03 ECOFIN 216 FIN 321 ECO 153 TRANS 187

ENER 217 RECH 121.

(8) Document 11463/03 PV/CONS 43 ECOFIN 222 Annex I.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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— a supportive policy for the further development of R & D
strategies and cross-border partnerships of the European
Regions,
is
taking into account
essential for attaining the 3 % objective,

the needs of SMEs,

— SMEs could play an important role in raising the level of
expenditure in research and innovation, as well as in
fostering employment,

— the innovative and more effective use of various public
financing instruments at EU and national levels, and facili-
tating and promoting the use of the Structural Funds in
support of R & D, are key factors for raising the level of
expenditure in research and innovation,

— simplification and modernisation of State Aid rules can
facilitate Member States' efforts to reorient state aid expen-
diture towards objectives of common interest, such as
R & D and SMEs,

— efforts should be continued in this context to achieve closer
linkage with other European cooperation initiatives such as
COST, Eureka and ESF;

initiatives and national
the needs of SMEs,

initiatives, with specific regard to

— promote a supportive environment for the development
and deployment of new technologies and improve the
social, fiscal and administrative framework conditions in
order to make the European Union more attractive for
private investment and stimulate the creation and growth
of high-tech enterprises,

between

— encourage and develop new initiatives aimed at intensifying
research,
cooperation
public
technology
enhancing in such a way the efficiency of
for
links,
transnational public private
transfer
example by the promotion of centres and networks of
excellence, research infrastructures and industrial clusters,

industry

and

and

funds to support

— examine the possibility of using to a greater extent
research, development and
structural
innovation, bearing in mind the role of these funds to
promote social and economic cohesion, and taking into
account
the specific needs and potential of different
regions, including those of acceding States,

INVITES Member States, Acceding States and the Commission
to:

— encourage

entrepreneurship

among

students

and

researchers,

— apply the open method of coordination building upon the
guidelines set out by the European Council and the Council
to support the implementation of the Action Plan and the
achievement of the 3 % objective, using, on a voluntary
basis, freely chosen national qualitative and/or quantitative
targets,

— use CREST as an operational interface to define and oversee
the implementation of the open method of coordination in
respect of the 3 % objective, with a view to it becoming
rapidly operational, recognising that the work of CREST in
this respect will need active links with other ongoing
actions to strengthen competitiveness,

— develop the training of researchers, promote and diversify
career opportunities, and create incentives for researchers in
Europe aimed at attracting and retaining high level
researchers in the European Union, as well as increase
mobility, by the removal of persistent obstacles to it, and
in particular mobility between public and private sectors,

— enhance access to equity and debt financing for research
and innovation through a range of measures giving
particular attention to the needs of SMEs in new as well
as traditional sectors and of new innovative SMEs and
spin-off firms,

— to develop a European risk capital/venture capital market,
as well as to increase complementarity between EIB and EIF

— promote intellectual property right

(IPR) awareness and
training activities targeted in particular at public research
organisations and SMEs;

INVITES the Commission to:

— pursue its ongoing initiatives to simplify and modernise
State Aid rules and procedures, considering the new
relationships between R & D and production processes,
taking into account a more modern and coherent definition
of R & D activities and the particular needs of newly
developed innovative companies,

— to support,

in consultation with the Member States, the
setting up of European Technology Platforms on a limited
number of key technologies as a means to foster effective
public-private partnership among the research community,
industry and SME associations, financial institutions, users
and policy makers in order to develop a strategic agenda
for leading technologies and mobilise the research and
innovation efforts,

— in the context of developing a strategic approach to growth
and competitiveness, report annually to the Council from
2004 onwards on the progress achieved in reaching the
3 % objective, on the implementation of the Action Plan,
and on the application of the open method of coordination,
identifying remaining obstacles and problems and, where
appropriate, new actions needed.