Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on  The role of technology parks in the industrial transformation of the new Member States
Date: 2005-12-14
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: Cyprus, Czechia, ESC opinion, EU industrial policy, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, economic policy, economic situation, industrial cooperation, industrial integration, school-industry relations, technology park, technology transfer, transition economy

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Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘The role of technology parks in the
industrial transformation of the new Member States’

(2006/C 65/11)

On 10 February 2005, the European Economic and Social Committee decided to draw up an opinion,
under Rule 29(2) of its Rules of Procedure, on: The role of technology parks in the industrial transformation of
the new Member States.

The Consultative Commission on Industrial Change, which was responsible for the Committee's work on
the subject, adopted its opinion on 23 November 2005. The rapporteur was Mr Tóth and the co-rappor-
teur was Mr Kubíček.

At its 422nd plenary session of 14 and 15 December 2005 (meeting of 14 December), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 127 votes to none with six abstentions:

1. Introduction

At its March 2005 session, the Council of the European
1.1
Union relaunched the Lisbon strategy by refocusing on growth
and jobs.

1.2
the
In conjunction with the integrated guidelines,
Council, in its June 2005 Recommendation 10667/05, set out
proposals for the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines (BEPGs)
for the 2005-2008 period.

The eighth of these guidelines calls for facilitation of all
1.3
forms of innovation in the Member States. The EESC would
point out that industrial parks, which are the subject of the
present opinion, meet all the Council's criteria for instruments
to facilitate innovation, and that parks can be considered as
‘innovation poles’, which fall under the second category of
instruments in the Council list; as they fulfil the requirement to
bring together universities, other
research institutions and
enterprises in all Member States, they integrate regional and
local
levels, and thus help to bridge the technology gap
between regions.

The EESC would also point out that industrial parks
1.4
already make a significant contribution to achieving the objec-
tives of Guideline 10 given that their constituent elements form
part of the ‘industrial fabric’ which the Council deems necessary
for Europe, and that their exceptional competitiveness serves to
strengthen the EU's industrial base.

The industrial parks situated in the new Member States
1.5
are structured on similar lines to those in the fifteen ‘old’
Member States and in many other parts of the world. In legisla-
tive texts and terminology, such organisations are variously
designated; industrial park, science park, technology park, tech-
innovation centre and
nopole, research park, business park,
technology incubator are some of the terms most frequently
used. However, the basic idea remains the same: facilitating
interaction between science, technology and economic develop-

ment and creating synergies through cooperation between busi-
ness and research institutions, thus facilitating market access. In
addition, parks operate by providing high-quality, specialised
services, with particular emphasis on business incubation, spin-
off activities and networking.

1.6
Legislation on industrial and technology parks has been
adopted by the two future Member States which have begun
accession negotiations, Bulgaria and Romania.

1.7
Industrial parks provide a comprehensive framework
and instruments to facilitate, stimulate and develop innovation
and regional development. Their activities usually include busi-
ness incubators, promotion of technology transfer and ‘business
angel’ programmes.
Industrial parks offer excellent opportu-
nities to prepare and execute venture capital transactions. They
make a substantial contribution to the operation, development
and implementation of EU programmes with the same or
similar objectives. They are effective partners and can also func-
tion in networks

1.8
Up till now, establishment and development of industrial
parks in the ten new Member States have generally involved
the practical application of environmental principles.
In the
case of new parks, strict environmental standards are in place
from the beginning as a result of harmonisation to comply
with accession conditions.
In the case of parks set up in
response to reorganisation and industrial change, the start of
park operations is often the first step towards environmental
solutions.

1.9
The phenomenon of parks reflects a combination of
various development trends. These include a regional (local) as
a response to globalisation, a desire to overcome various
cultural, national and ethnic problems, and the pressing need
to bridge the wide gaps between divergent levels of develop-
ment.

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1.10
Park-related solutions have proved their worth in
boosting employment and creating many new jobs (over
140 000 in Hungary since 1997). Other benefits include
attracting businesses and preventing de-industrialisation (since
1997, over 2 500 companies have set up in Hungarian indus-
trial parks). Jobs which have been created in this way tend to
be connected with higher-level technologies and require greater
know-how in order
the challenges presented by
restructuring.

to meet

1.11
In the more developed EU countries, the fifteen ‘old’
EU Member States, institutional, legal and financial systems for
regionalisation have been built up over decades, together with
structures and designations of industrial development appro-
priate to changing conditions as a result of economic growth
and evolving aid arrangements at European and national levels.
In the countries which joined the EU in 2004, attention has
focused on efforts to overcome significant backwardness in
these areas and catching up with the rest of the EU. Industrial
parks have played a prominent role in these efforts, given that
they enhance competitiveness, while helping to overcome
unemployment and the gap between divergent
levels of
regional development. Characteristic of the situation is a certain
duality of economic and social structures existing at the time of
accession:
institutional and
financial elements are still present, although to a large extent
these are losing ground, whereas newly developing structures
of administration and governance are playing an increasingly
important role.

long-established administrative,

Industrial parks have been set up in the accession countries as
an expression of new aspirations for economic and industrial
policy as well as regional development.

1.12
This own-initiative opinion seeks to discuss the poten-
tial contribution which parks can offer and how they stand in
relation to each other, from the perceptive of the tasks facing
the EU, given that they promote activities which are conducive
to economic and social cohesion in the post-accession context,
and thus merit particularly close attention in connection with
industrial change. It should be emphasised that it was the emer-
gence of an internal regulatory order in the European Union
which boosted the role of industrial parks in EU countries, and
many of
the new Member States and accession countries
already responded to this shift in emphasis many years ago. At
the same time, in some cases there was a lack of economic stra-
tegies capable of addressing the complex nature of opportu-
nities offered by industrial parks and of providing leadership
which took the needs of international integration into account.

innovation poles as well as research-driven and industrial clus-
ters are of relevance. Point 3.2 of the accompanying action
plan calls for promotion of such organisations and for Member
States to make full use of Structural Fund resources (MEMO/
05/366).

Industrial parks, technology parks, science parks and
1.14
other organisations referred to by similar terms function as
innovation poles and thus contribute to achieving the priority
objectives which have been set for the current phase of the
Lisbon process and for the 2005-2008 BEPGs. The aim of the
European Economic and Social Committee in drawing up this
own-initiative opinion is to promote the development of such
organisations in the fifteen ‘old’ EU Member States and the ten
‘new’ ones and to encourage co-operation between them. In
addition, it aims to enhance the accessibility of aid from the
European Commission and other EU institutions to industrial,
technology, science and other similar parks in all Member
States.

2. Parks as innovation poles: types of park, and interna-

tional trends

2.1 Types of park

Based on international experience, and also on the preceding
remarks, it can be concluded that no two industrial parks are
alike. It is also natural for a particular park to undergo constant
change over time. The networks which are developing are a
clear demonstration of this diversity of parks and their adapt-
ability to changing needs. With the above remarks in mind, in
the following analysis the activities of ‘innovation poles’ are
understood not only in the stricter sense relating to innovation
in industry, technology, science or other areas, but as encom-
passing a spectrum of activities generating added value.

This approach ties in with the European Commission's defini-
tion of innovation and competitiveness poles as close coopera-
tive association between enterprises,
training centres and
public- or private-sector research institutes within a defined
geographical area. Such poles run innovation-centred joint
projects generating various synergies between local players.
Such cooperation is concentrated in particular fields of techno-
logical or scientific activity and is intended to create a critical
mass enabling competitiveness and international visibility to be
achieved.

Depending on their function (tasks), parks can be cate-
2.2
gorised as science parks, technology parks, innovation centres
and business parks.

In European Commission document IP/05/1252 the
1.13
Commissioner for enterprise and industry, together with the
Commissioner for science and research, pointed out that inno-
vation and research are at the heart of business. In this respect,

Technopolises, technology poles, technological districts, entre-
preneurial zones and meta-districts can be considered as more
comprehensive organisational structures.

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Depending on how they are set up, two basic categories of
parks can be clearly distinguished: green-field parks and recon-
struction-type parks.

years, and 50 % over the next ten years, together with full
exemption from property tax. On 1 January 2001, these incen-
tives were brought into line with EU legislation. Given that the
special status of SEZs will expire by December 2017 at the
latest, the quantity, role and land area of industrial parks is
likely to grow.

2.3
In a process of continuous change, parks pass through
various stages of development. There is a tendency to move
away from monumental
infrastructures to more
industrial
sophisticated production facilities suitable for products from
the higher end of the value chain, with increasing emphasis on
ICT and a broad spectrum of innovative services provided by
park operators to companies based in the park.

In Latvia parks are referred to as ‘business parks’, and
3.5
they attract companies by means of favourable infrastructure
and administrative conditions. The Latvian Innovation Act
provides for a national research and development programme.

3. A review of the situation in the new Member States

In the ten countries which joined the European Union
3.1
on 1 May 2004, it can be observed that industrial parks gener-
ally match the types described in point 2.1. In Cyprus there are
several so-called ‘Enterprise Incubators’, co-financed by the
government. These are private organisations dealing with
specific projects.

In Lithuania, decisive government efforts aimed at
3.6
stimulating development of
labour-intensive, relatively high-
value-added industries (automotive electronics, electronics) and
IT,
knowledge-based industries and services (biotechnology,
laser technology) have significantly contributed to industrial
restructuring. The programme, launched in the late 1990s, to
build ‘industrial parks’ with proper infrastructure near cities,
was designed to develop Lithuania's economy, focusing as it
did on industrial development in the immediate vicinity of
urban centres, in view of the availability of skilled labour there.

In the Czech Republic, 82 industrial zones were set up
3.2
through CzechInvest,
the government agency to promote
investment, in the framework of the governments programme
In 2001
to support
further
zones,
Building and regenerating leasable properties, and Accreditation of
industrial zones were added.

sub-programmes on Regenerating

the development of

industrial zones.

industrial

3.3
There are several types of industrial park in Estonia,
denoted and defined in various ways. Some of them have been
set up with the support of local/regional authorities and other
organisations; primarily concerned with research and develop-
they operate in cooperation with major universities.
ment,
There are currently two such parks, in Tartu and in Tallinn.
Industrial parks set up by private initiatives are profit-making
companies, which are mainly active in logistics, services,
commerce and other industrial sectors.

In Hungary,

3.7
the government has been operating a
system to develop industrial parks since 1997. Individual parks
submit their long-term development plans for assessment by
the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and if they are of a suffi-
ciently high standard, they are awarded the title of industrial
park. The objectives of industrial parks are to enhance competi-
tiveness, to create jobs, and to put in place the conditions for
environmentally friendly industrial activity, as well as logistical
and other services which comply with EU standards. There are
approximately 2 500 companies, both multinationals and
Hungarian small and medium enterprises, with over 140 000
employees, in Hungarian industrial parks.

3.4 Most ‘industrial parks’ in Poland were set up over the
past few years. At present, their economic impact is negligible,
primarily because the main channels for
investment, and
foreign investment in particular, are the 14 Special Economic
Zones (SEZ). These zones were set up by government acts in
1995-97 for a period of 20 years in industrially underdeve-
loped regions or regions in need of industrial restructuring, as
part of support for regional development. Initially they offered
investors 100 % exemption from corporate tax for the first ten

In Malta, economic statistics from recent years show
3.8
industrial manufacturing makes a relatively substantial
that
contribution to the economy. Malta Enterprise, a company
whose objective is to promote investment, has set up a Busi-
ness Incubation Centre to support pioneering projects in fields
such as IT, telecommunications, mechanical and electrical engi-
neering design, industrial design, renewable energy sources and
biotechnology. The Incubation Centre provides facilities for
investment or financing, together with a wide range of infra-
structure services, to companies operating in the above sectors.

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3.9
Support for industrial parks in Slovakia is regulated by
Act No 193 on support for industrial parks, adopted in 2001
and amended in 2003 and 2004. This act defines an industrial
park as an area designated in the spatial plan in which one or
more enterprises is engaged in industrial manufacture. Local
and regional authorities can set up industrial parks on land
owned by them; the Act also provides for joint establishment
of industrial parks on the basis of a contract between two or
more authorities.

Industrial parks have a key role to play in promoting
5.2
innovation. For this reason,
it is not enough for industrial
parks to form networks on the basis of purely industrial or
agricultural considerations; it is becoming increasingly impor-
tant to mobilise the intellectual resources of universities,
if
economic objectives are to be achieved. It will only be possible
to enhance competitiveness, make the economy more flexible
and tap the benefits of human resources by mobilising intel-
lectual resources and promoting innovation.

In Slovenia, parks are referred to as ‘technology parks’.
3.10
Their purpose is to act as a catalyst for business ideas making
use of state-of-the-art technology and a high degree of scientific
know-how. In addition, they put in place the physical and intel-
lectual infrastructure for such initiatives with particular atten-
tion to the needs of small and medium enterprises, and liaise
between businesses and institutions of higher education. The
Ministry of Economic Affairs defines a technological park as a
legal entity which assists in the execution of projects,
in
contrast to incubators, which are also legal entities, but only
create the starting conditions for projects.

6. Knowledge transfer and innovation

6.1 Innovation centres and transfer agencies

4. Strategic aims and models

Parks — however much they differ from one another —
4.1
eventually tend to form networks, whose
are
embedded in the economic, industrial and innovation policies
adopted by the government of a particular country in pursuing
its goals. Based on an analysis of government priorities, policies
can be categorised as mission-oriented — i.e. thematic, with an
emphasis on government resources — or diffusion-oriented —
focusing on results and synergies, or as a combination of both.

activities

4.2
The two models cannot always be sharply distinguished
from one another on the basis of global objectives, given that,
to take one example, promoting high technology in one region
by means of industrial parks not only benefits that region, but
also helps to propagate innovation in general. The difference is
one of emphasis.

5. The Lisbon strategy and industrial parks

5.1
The Lisbon Strategy identifies promotion of the dissemi-
nation of innovation and technology, as well as the application
and commercial exploitation of R&D results as priority tasks, in
the interests of growth, employment and sustainability. Indus-
trial parks and the accompanying organisational structures are
playing an increasingly important role in helping to fulfil the
organisational,
to
financial and legal conditions
happen.

this

for

6.1.1
Rather than operating in one specific area, these enti-
ties act as a bridge between science and society by providing
services (on either a commercial or non-profit basis) to enter-
prises in a given region or country. The types discussed here
can be distinguished primarily according to whether they func-
tion more as agencies providing services (donors) or as (reci-
pient) enterprises. Information centres and transfer agencies act
as mediators by encouraging and helping companies to make
use of research results. By contrast, organisations providing
R&D services include research institutes, which in some cases
are combined with recipient enterprises into a single unit.

as

are

The main services provided by innovation centres and
6.1.2
transfer
follows: providing consultancy,
agencies
enabling technology transfer, running a business information
database, organising business meetings
fairs,
recruiting specialists, servicing infrastructure used for experi-
ments, providing support for spin-offs, linking up with business
angels and networking.

and trade

These organisations mainly provide business consul-
6.1.3
tancy services. A mediating role is played, for example, by
innovation centres in the Netherlands and the network of R&D
attachés in Norway. By means of
the services which they
provide to companies, these organisations help to disseminate
research results and encourage their adoption.
In Germany
transfer centres and agencies follow a more direct approach to
technology transfer by offering such services on the same lines
as processing industry service centres operating in the USA.
Their services include loans of researchers funded by govern-
ment programmes, with the provision of financial assistance to
companies employing university researchers by covering part
of their salaries.

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6.1.4
Usually such agencies are established by government
initiatives (or, in the case of Germany, initiatives by chambers
of commerce and industry), given that, for the beneficiaries of
technological development can only be
such programmes,
made really effective and thus benefit the long-term interests of
the economy with external support, which in most cases comes
from the government. At the level of finances, the situation is
more varied: for example,
innovation centres in the Nether-
lands are funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and offer
some of their services free of charge (for example the first 16
hours of consultancy sessions). The work of Norwegian R&D
attachés is also government-funded. By contrast, in Germany
and the United States support for such centres comes from a
special fund, and diminishes over time: over three years in
Germany, and six years in the USA, starting from a level of
50 %. Some services are provided on a commercial basis and
others are on a non-profit basis.

6.2 Organisations providing R&D services

6.2.1
The characteristic features of these more highly struc-
tured agencies are that they work to bring science and industry
closer together, unite industrial and other types of research
institutions and companies in networks, and also, with the help
of government funding, provide R&D services on a contractual
basis, mainly to small and medium enterprises. Although their
activities are to a large extent linked to universities, we can still
distinguish them from university agencies and parks.

6.2.2
The latter organisations are also set up by means of
government initiatives, and in some cases they are also state-
run. They are commissioned by clients from the private sector
(industries) and public sector (e.g. ministries) to publicise scien-
tific innovations. Funding arrangements for such organisations
vary considerably, from 10 % to 100 % of project expenditure.

6.3 Types of cooperation between academia and industry in the form

of parks

6.3.1
These parks are sited in the vicinity of knowledge
generators — usually universities or research institutes — and
stand in a contractual relation with them; in some cases they
function as part of them. Hungarian examples include the Info-
Park or the INNOTECH Innovation Park of Budapest Technical
University. However, the requisite backing comes from national
or local government resources. Thanks to high quality technical
infrastructure, they ensure that an increasingly wide range of
conditions for innovation are in place. With the help of techno-
logical
the innovation
process can be covered and the range of activities taking place
within a single industrial park can be expanded to include the

transfer, more and more phases of

creation of market-ready products, mass production, and even
the establishment of new industrial sectors.

6.3.2 Many science and research parks have underpinned
prosperity and diverse scientific opportunities in the areas
where they are set up. There are many such areas in France
(e.g. Lyons). In the case of other French parks, the ‘techno-
polis’ model plays a key role, and is seen as a unique new
urban concept. The first Japanese parks were set up in a
similar way, but within the framework of a programme, based
on a similar version of the ‘technopolis’ model to the French
one. The best known of these is Tsukala, a green-field develop-
ment which was established as an entirely new science city.
Nowadays, technopolises are set up by local initiatives. In the
USA,
it was in areas such as these that the first innovation
parks were sited (for example Silicon Valley and the vicinity of
Route 128 in Boston).

Today, innovation parks exist in all the countries of
6.3.3
from Lisbon to Athens. The parks
the European Union,
discussed so far are the most complex of
the innovation-
oriented organisations and have the greatest organisational
potential, given that, in terms of promoting innovation, they
offer the benefits outlined above.

7. Recommendations

7.1
In the EESC's view, the European Union should play an
active role in promoting the establishment and development of
industrial and technological parks as innovation poles in EU
Member States and regions, thus enabling full integration of
new and old Member States in the enlarged single market,
which is one of the key elements of the new partnership for
growth and development envisaged by the re-launched Lisbon
strategy. The ultimate goal is:

— to boost the competitiveness of the new Member States and
to reduce regional disparities, thus ensuring better overall
economic performance in the EU;

— to boost competitiveness at

regional and local

the re-use of natural,

levels,
enabling more effective management of industrial restruc-
turing, of
financial and human
resources, and of a strategy capable of responding to the
complex nature of the economic and technological oppor-
tunities and challenges presented by European integration
and the global market;

— to ensure that full use is made of the opportunities offered
by completion of the enlarged European single market, for
technology parks and
example through networking of
industrial parks at
levels based on their
trans-regional
global goals;

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— to raise general standards in research and innovation, and
commercial application and market launches of research
results, by means of even closer links between SMEs, the
scientific sphere and research, training of highly qualified
personnel at both operational and organisational
levels,
modernisation of public administration and the accompa-
nying legislative framework, and capacity building for all
players
decision-making
the
processes, thus helping the European Union to become the
most dynamic region in the world, while spending 3 % of
GDP on innovation;

participating

parks'

in

— to use European networks of

technology and industrial
parks to stimulate interaction between industry, the services
sector and the financial sector, at the same time as enhan-
links and building up the capacity to
cing technological
take on and propagate new knowledge, thus boosting inno-
vation and competitiveness and ensuring that objectives
such as growth, competitiveness, employment, sustainable
development and equal opportunities are compatible with
through interaction and
one another and achievable
consensus;

— to monitor and evaluate the performance, effective technical
capacities, actual achievements and other beneficial effects
of industrial and technology parks; this should be done on
a regular basis and in reference to standardised criteria laid
down in advance;

— to ensure compliance with the EU legislative framework,
including competition and state aid rules, while taking into
consideration the continuing development of such rules.

In the EESC's view, policies to promote networks of
7.2.1
industrial and technology parks must be developed at three
levels, i.e. European, national and regional/local, in full compli-
ance with the subsidiarity principle enshrined in the Treaties
and with EU legislation, including competition law.

The EESC advocates a global,

integrated approach
7.2.2
encompassing the Seventh Framework Programme for research,
technological development and demonstration activities, Euro-
pean Investment Fund (EIF) and European Investment Bank
(EIB) funding, the European growth imitative, the Structural
Funds, the multiannual programme for enterprise and entrepre-
neurship, the new partnership policy instrument, the competi-
tiveness and innovation framework programme, and Com-
munity programmes in the fields of education and training,
while taking into account the broad economic policy guidelines
for 2005-2008. Adopting such an approach will ensure flex-
ibility in choice of instruments, close coordination, consistency
and simplicity, thus facilitating participation in programmes
and enabling proposals to be approached from a variety of
perspectives. All of this would benefit the development of pan-
European networks by supporting integrated cooperation
programmes between industrial parks, technology parks and
industrial districts at inter-regional and trans-regional level.

7.2.3
Concerning the mechanisms of the new competitive-
ness and innovation framework programme (see INT/270,
study group), the EESC would propose that the ‘Entrepreneur-
ship and Innovation’ and ‘ICT Policy Support’ programmes
explicitly mention the development of networks of industrial
parks, technology parks and industrial districts, with particular
reference to promotion of such networks providing funding for
the initial stages and facilitating access to venture capital, and
measures to promote the introduction and more effective use
of information and communication technologies through the e-
Europe and i2010 initiatives. The new mechanisms of
the
competitiveness and innovation framework programme must
include support for networks of industrial and technological
parks and districts; this should also help to boost SME partici-
pation in the Seventh Framework Programme for research,
technological development and demonstration activities.

7.2.4 With regard to individual programmes included in the
seventh framework programme, particularly the ‘capacities’,
‘people’ and ‘JRC’
the
EESC would make the following recommendations:

(Joint Research Centre) programmes,

— stronger support measures are needed for SMEs, particularly
with regard to research, and organisations and associations
of SMEs; it should be acknowledged that the pan-European
network of industrial and technology parks and clusters and
industrial districts are fully eligible to submit research
proposals;

— measures should be taken to enhance the research and
knowledge potential of European regions, to support the
development of industrial and technology parks and clusters
as well as European and pan-European networks of parks
and clusters, to finance ‘Foresight’ participatory technology
activities with a view to formulating medium and long-term
plans and strategies,
together with Foresight activities
relating to the theme of ‘socio-economic sciences and the
the ‘capacities’ specific
humanities’
programme;

, which is part of

— financial and human resources envisaged by the ‘industry-
academia pathways and partnership’ action included in the
‘people’ specific programme, and in particular researchers
who recognise the special concerns relevant to the develop-
ment of SMEs, should be made available to meet the needs
of industrial and technology parks and clusters;

— the expertise of the Joint Research Centre must be made
fully accessible to industrial and technology parks and clus-
ters, by funding their participation in indirect activities with
regard to networking, promoting training and mobility, and
establishing technology platforms; in doing so, they should
take advantage of the high European added-value offered by
the JCR and its research institutes, in particular the IPTS in
Seville.

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7.2.5 With regard to the EIF, the EIB, the growth initiative,
and Structural and Cohesion Funds, action should be taken to
follow up the conclusions of
the March 2005 European
summit by creating more and better synergies in the field of
research and innovation between Community funds, the EIF
and the EIB. The European Council also pointed out
that
regional and local players must be given much greater owner-
ship of the Lisbon strategy, with its three pillars (economic,
social and environmental). The EESC recommends stepping up
efforts to develop cohesion policy — which promotes conver-
gence, competitiveness and territorial cooperation — and
concentrating more resources on the development of innova-
tion and the knowledge-based society in such a way as to
anticipate and stimulate economic changes tending to enhance
competitiveness and economic competitive advantages; it also
recommends enhancing the vocational skills of
the labour
force, especially in the new Member States. To this end, activ-
ities and networks of industrial and technology parks and clus-
ters should be developed, through European territorial coopera-
tion and public-private partnerships
and funding
programmes such as the EIF's Innovation 2010 initiative.

(PPPs)

The fifth multiannual programme for enterprise and
7.2.6
entrepreneurship and the European Charter for Small Enter-
prises highlight the need for development of the education and
training of entrepreneurs, measures to enable cheaper and
faster start-ups, more modern legislation and regulation, better
availability of skilled labour, easier access to online services,
improved fiscal and financial conditions, strengthening the
technological capacity of SMEs, and accessibility to successful
e-business models and best practice. The EESC has always been
strongly in favour of Community action with an impact on
industrial and technological parks and clusters.

The EESC feels that it would be useful

7.2.7
if the New
European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument, and in
particular that part of it which was previously covered by
action areas 2 and 3 of the INTERREG programme, were to
include measures concerning industrial and technological parks
and clusters in its funding for inter-regional, trans-regional,
European and pan-European networks.

The EESC advocates cooperation in the Member States
7.2.8
with job centres and with all institutional players at EU level
with an interest in job creation to ensure that parks remain in

Brussels, 14 December 2005.

a position to generate new jobs, taking advantage of the oppor-
tunities offered by networking. Representatives of business,
trade unions, local authorities and NGOs must be involved to
ensure that jobs involving significant additional high-quality
(tacit) knowledge are created. Employees working in parks
must be enabled to participate on an ongoing basis on training
and retraining adapted to industrial restructuring. In line with
EESC opinion CESE 1073/2005 adopted on 28-29 September
(CCMI/019), it should be emphasised that social dialogue and
employee participation are crucial
in preparing for industrial
change and channelling the process in the right direction.

of

production

The EESC advocates measures aimed at

improving
7.2.9
European training and educational systems and developing new
paradigms
friendly
and
consumption, by means of educational and training activities to
assist in the development of networks of industrial and techno-
logical parks and clusters. The new training and educational
programmes in such parks and clusters could also contribute to
making highly skilled professions in industry and technology
more attractive for young Europeans.

environmentally

In keeping with the conclusions adopted by the EESC
7.2.10
on this subject in earlier opinions — and in particular in
opinion 374/2005 of 6 April 2005 on European industrial
districts — the EESC would emphasise that it is vital to develop
industrial parks and industrial districts as innovation poles and
European platforms (European Platform for Innovation Poles),
enabling a joint strategic vision and capacity-building activities
and cultural development of the trade unions together with
professional associations,
in cooperation with the relevant
players of organised civil society. In doing so, full use must be
made of all appropriate instruments for promoting innovation
and knowledge transfer: exchanging best practice, setting basic
harmonised requirements
joint
for
training measures, providing direct access to JRC expertise,
developing common terminology and classifications, as well as
exploiting and creating potential
synergies between the
resources of industrial parks and clusters in various countries,
with a view to enabling them to take direct part in Community
programmes and initiatives. At
the same time, common
systems for the evaluation, monitoring and benchmarking of
European industrial and technological parks and clusters and
industrial districts must be put in place.

identification,

taking

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND