Report from the Commission - Annual Report on research and technological development activities of the European Union in 2008 {SEC(2009)1380}
Date: 2009-10-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU programme, activity report, applied research, innovation, research and development, research policy, technological change

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 22.10.2009 
COM(2009) 558 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 

Annual Report on research and technological development activities of the European 
Union in 2008 

{SEC(2009)1380} 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This  Annual  Report  covers  developments  and  activities  during  2008.  It  has  been  prepared 
pursuant to Article 1731 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.  

This report is accompanied by a Commission Staff Working Document, which provides more 
detailed reporting and statistics. The main chapters are on the activities and results achieved in 
2008  and  on  trends  in  research  and  technological  development  (RTD)  activities  in  the 
Member States of the European Union (EU). 

2. 

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS : EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA (ERA) 

Research has been a centrepiece of the Lisbon strategy since its launch in 2000. Community 
research  policy  underpins  the  competitiveness  of  European  industry  and  supports  the 
development  of  other  Community  policies,  making  it  a  crucial  policy  domain  for  finding 
adequate responses to the challenges Europe is facing. By successfully finalising the second 
year of implementation of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and continuing to make 
progress  towards  the  European  Research  Area,  Community  research  policy  has  attained  its 
overall objectives. 

The principal aims of Community research policy continue to be a strive for greater research 
excellence  and  enhanced  socio-economic  relevance  by  increasing  the  openness  and 
attractiveness of the ERA to realise the fifth freedom (freedom of circulation of knowledge), 
by deepening international science and technology (S&T) cooperation and by forging closer 
relationships  with  neighbouring  countries.  Building  strategic  relationships  with  the  Member 
States continues to be one of the principal tools for progressing towards these objectives. 

A failure to invest more in research and develop a world-class research system in Europe will 
cost future generations dearly and put our well-being at risk. Statistics on R&D investments2 
reveal a persistent gap between the EU and the USA, with the EU's R&D intensity stagnating 
at 1.84% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), well behind the 2.61% level in the USA.  

Continuing to increase public investment in R&D is particularly relevant in the context of the 
financial and economic crisis, as it may have a countercyclical effect in a time when private 
R&D budgets are under pressure. At the same time, policy makers should ensure that private 
R&D investment is not crowded out and that distortion of competition through public R&D 
expenditure are kept to a minimum. Although the impact of the current downturn is difficult 
to predict, structural R&D policy reform continues to be crucial to mitigate the effects of the 
crisis  and  to  consolidate  recovery.  R&D  was  therefore  an  essential  part  of  the  economic 
recovery  package  endorsed  by  the  European  Council  in  December  2008.  In  particular,  the 
Commission proposed the launch of three major public- private partnerships in the automobile 
sector (the "European green cars initiative"), the construction sector  (the  "European energy-

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2 

“At the beginning of each year the Commission shall send a report to the European Parliament and the 
Council. The report shall include information on research and technological development activities and 
the dissemination of results during the previous year, and the work programme for the current year.” 
See http://ec.europa.eu/research/era/pdf/key-figures-report2008-2009_en.pdf  

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efficient  buildings  initiative"),  and  to  increase  the  use  of  technology  in  manufacturing  (the 
"Factories of the future initiative").3 

On 30 May 2008, the Competitiveness Council launched the Ljubljana process, its principal 
aim being to improve the governance of research policy across the EU to progress towards the 
realisation of the ERA4. It creates a framework for strong involvement of all relevant research 
actors  in  the  implementation  of  five  specific  ERA  policy  initiatives  that  were  launched  in 
2008 (see section 3.1). 

A long-term ERA 2020 vision was adopted by the Competitiveness Council on 2 December 
20085. This vision, a key reference for identifying future actions, projects a fully-fledged ERA 
by  2020  in  which  attractive  conditions  for  doing  research  and  investing  in  R&D  intensive 
sectors  in  Europe  are  ensured  through  optimised  scientific  competition,  cooperation,  and 
coordination.  

Realising a "fifth freedom", as endorsed by the European Council in March 20086, is at the 
centre of the ERA vision. The fifth freedom envisages the free circulation throughout Europe 
of  researchers,  scientific  knowledge  and  technology.  The  removal  of  obstacles  and  the 
creation  of  new  incentives  to  stimulate  this  circulation  are  key  in  this  respect,  including  by 
revising those aspects of the different Community policies affecting research and knowledge. 

3. 

EU RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES 

3.1. 

Policy achievements 

The 2008 Spring European Council launched the second cycle of the revised Lisbon strategy 
and  re-affirmed  research  and  knowledge  as  one  of  the  four  priorities6.  Making  further 
progress  towards  the  EU's  R&D  intensity  target  and  the  ERA  were  explicitly  identified  as 
areas for increased action. 

The  Ljubljana  Process  provides  a  framework  for  matching  high-level  political  commitment 
and  overall  steering  of  ERA  with  concrete  progress  through  joint  actions  and  sustainable 
partnerships between the Member States, the Commission and relevant research actors. In this 
context,  five  ERA  initiatives  were  launched  in  2008  following  the  debate  and  stakeholder 
consultation on the 2007 ERA Green paper7: 

–  In  order  to  accelerate  the  realisation  of  a  genuine  labour  market  for  researchers,  a 
Communication  was  adopted  on  "Better  Careers  and  more  Mobility:  A  European 
Partnership for Researchers"8. The process towards its implementation has been started up. 

–  To improve the exploitation of publicly funded research results, the Commission adopted a 
recommendation  and  a  Code  of  Practice  for  universities  and  other  public  research 
organisations  (PROs)  on  intellectual  property  management  in  knowledge  transfer 

3 
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6 
7 
8 

COM(2008) 800  
See doc. 10231/08 
See doc. 16767/08 
See doc. 7652/1/08 
COM(2007) 161  
COM(2008) 317  

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activities9. A working group of the Scientific and Technical Research Committee of the EU 
(CREST)10 and a dedicated forum have been set up to support the implementation of the 
recommendation and the Code of Practice. 

–  A Communication on joint programming11 of public research programmes was adopted. A 
High Level Group on Joint Programming (GPC) was established under the auspices of the 
Council to select the themes. Work to develop a common initiative in the field of Neuro-
degenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer' ("Alzheimer initiative") has been ongoing, 
led by the Member States.  

–  The  Commission  adopted  a  proposal  for  a  legal  framework  for  European  research 
infrastructures12. Its aim is to provide a tailor-made legal framework to facilitate Member 
States’ joint establishment and operation of large-scale European research infrastructures.  

–  A  "Strategic  European  Framework  for  international  S&T  cooperation'  was  adopted, 
stressing  the  importance  of  developing  the  partnership  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission to strengthen co-ordination and create synergies in S&T cooperation with the 
rest of the world13. Increasing global challenges reinforce the need for a new approach to 
international cooperation in science and technology, as highlighted in the Communication. 

The  European  Council  decided  in  June  to  establish  in  Budapest  the  seat  of  the  European 
Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an initiative aiming at a better integration of the 
three  poles  of  the  knowledge  triangle  on  research,  education  and  innovation.  Eighteen 
representatives  from  the  research  sector,  higher  education  and  companies  have  been 
nominated  as  members  of  the  Governing  Board.  The  first  Knowledge  and  Innovation 
Communities (KICs) will be selected and launched by the end of 2009. 

In  2008,  European  Technology  Platforms  (ETPs)14  spearheaded  the  Commission's  aim  to 
implement different forms of large-scale public-private partnerships: they have spun off Joint 
Technology Initiatives (JTI), contributed to industrial initiatives in the context of the Strategic 
Energy Technology (SET) Plan15 and helped shape the public-private partnerships under the 
economic recovery package16, as referred to above. A  number of ETPs moved beyond their 
research agendas by contributing to the Lead Markets Initiative17. 

Existing  instruments  for  cooperation  within  FP7  such  as  Article  169  initiatives  and  JTIs18 
were  further  developed  in  2008.  The  Commission  adopted  a  proposal  for  an  Article  169 
European  Metrology  Joint  Research  Programme19,  and  agreement  was  reached  on  both  the 
Ambient  Assisted  Living20  and  EUROSTARS21  initiatives.  Following  the  adoption  of  the 

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Commission Recommendation C(2008) 1329 
See http://www.consilium.europa.eu/crest  
COM(2008) 468  
COM(2008) 467 
COM(2008) 588 
See http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/. 
COM(2007) 723  
COM(2008) 800  
See http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/leadmarket/leadmarket.htm.  
JTIs are public-private partnerships in industrial research at European level set up under Article 171 of 
the Treaty. 
COM(2008) 814  
OJ L 201, 30.7.2008, p. 49. 

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Regulations setting up the first four JTIs22 in 2007, the Council adopted a fifth JTI Regulation 
on  Fuel  Cells  and  Hydrogen  in  200823.  All  five  JTIs  started  their  operations  in  2008.  The 
Commission Staff Working Document accompanying this Annual Report contains statistical 
information  on  the  2008  activities  of  the  four  JTIs  set  up  in  2007.  This  constitutes  the  first 
reporting  on  progress  achieved  by  these  JTIs,  as  required  by  Art  11  (1)  of  the  respective 
Council Regulations. 

The  Risk-Sharing  Finance  Facility  (RSFF)  provides  loans  for  R&D  and  innovation 
investments with the support of FP7. FP7 will contribute up to EUR 1 billion to this scheme 
which, together with a matching contribution from the European Investment Bank (EIB), will 
allow to provide EUR 8-12 billion in loans. In 2008, the EIB signed 16 RSFF loan operations 
with  a  volume  of  EUR  1020  million.  Since  its  launch  in  July  2007,  the  total  loan  amount 
signed under the RSFF has reached EUR 1480 million for the period 2007-2008.  

It is to be noted that in December 2008 the Council approved the creation within the EIB of a 
European  Clean  Transport  Facility  (ECTF)  to  support  investments  targeting  R&D  and 
innovation in the areas of emissions reduction and energy efficiency in the European transport 
industry. The ECTF will amount to EUR 4 billion per year and targets automotive, railroad, 
aircraft and shipping industries.  

In 2008, FP7 association instruments were signed with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. 
Researchers  from  39  countries  (27  Member  States  and  12  Associated  Countries)  are  now 
enjoying  the  same  rights  and  obligations  in  their  participation  in  FP7  research  projects.  In 
addition, in 2008 the already provisionally applicable S&T cooperation agreement with Egypt 
was  concluded,  an  S&T  cooperation  agreement  with  New  Zealand  was  signed  and 
negotiations of an S&T cooperation agreement with Jordan (EC) were launched. Furthermore, 
the already provisionally applicable association agreements with Switzerland and Israel (EC) 
were concluded and entered into force. 

During the SET-Plan15 conference in Paris, the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) 
was  created.  The  SET-Plan  European  Industrial  Initiatives  will  define  roadmaps  for  their 
respective  technologies  during  2009.  The  EERA  will  ensure  that  the  research  agenda  gives 
continuity and a strong innovative base for the initiatives.  

Three Communications24 addressing the ICT field provide a comprehensive strategy for ICT 
research and innovation in the EU. The strategy builds on successes and lessons learned from 
ICT activities in the Framework programme. 

The  Communications  propose  actions  that  combine  both  the  supply  and  demand  drive  for 
innovation, public procurement of R&D as well as public-private partnerships to lead notably 
the  development  of  the  Future  Internet.  They  also  propose  concrete  actions  to  stop  the 
fragmentation  of  the  ICT  research  and  innovation  efforts,  to  better  coordinate  these  efforts 
and pool resources when needed. 

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OJ L 201, 30.7.2008, p. 58. 
The  first  four  JTIs  are:  Innovative  Medicines  (Council  Regulation  2008/73/EC,  http://imi.europa.eu), 
Clean Sky (Council Regulation 2008/71/EC, http://www.cleansky.eu), ARTEMIS (Council Regulation 
2008/74/EC, http://www.artemis-ju.eu) and ENIAC (Council Regulation 2008/72/EC, www.eniac.eu). 
Council Regulation 2008/521/EC of 30 May 2008, http://ec.europa.eu/research/fch  
COM(2009) 116; COM(2009) 184; COM(2009) 108  

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The  Communication  "Towards  a  coherent  strategy  for  a  European  Agricultural  Research 
Agenda"25 highlights a number of key initiatives to address the new challenges for European 
agriculture.  A  Communication26  outlining  a  European  strategy  for  marine  and  maritime 
research was also adopted in 2008. 

Structural Funds play an important role in supporting the regions in implementing the Lisbon 
strategy. The Community Strategic Guidelines for Cohesion Policy focus increasingly on the 
Lisbon  priorities  which  include  research.  An  analysis  of  all  approved  operational 
programmes27  shows  that  almost  25%  (EUR  86  billion)  of  the  total  EU  Structural  Funds 
2007-2013 are foreseen for R&D and innovation28. 

3.2. 

Implementation of Framework Programmes 

The  Seventh  Framework  Programme  (FP7),  with  a  total  budget  of  over  EUR  50  billion 
(Euratom FP7 EUR 2.7 billion for 5 years), constitutes a key tool to respond to Europe's needs 
in  terms  of  jobs,  competitiveness,  sustainable  development,  to  meet  the  research  needs  of 
other Community policies, and to build leadership in the global knowledge economy. 

2008 was the second year of the implementation of FP7. Some 14000 proposals were received 
in response to 55 calls for proposals, with more than 72000 applicants. Approximately 2500 
proposals were retained for funding.  

Two  executive  agencies  were  established  under  FP7.  The  European  Research  Council 
Executive  Agency  (ERCEA)29  was  created  to  implement  the  FP7  Specific  Programme 
"Ideas".  The  Research  Executive  Agency  (REA)30  will  implement  parts  of  the  FP7  Specific 
Programmes  "Cooperation"  (themes  on  Space  and  Security),  "Capacities"  (Research  for  the 
benefit  of  Small  and  Medium  Sized  Enterprises)  and  "People"  and  provide  general  FP7 
support services31 on proposal reception/evaluation, management of appointment letters with 
expert evaluators and legal and financial validation of framework programme participants. 

The ten Themes identified in the Cooperation programme reflect the key fields of knowledge 
and  technology  in  which  research  excellence  is  particularly  important  to  improve  Europe's 
ability  to  address  the  challenges  for  the  future.  In  total,  4619  proposals  were  submitted  in 
2008  and  787  retained  for  funding,  with  a  total  requested  Community  contribution  of  more 
than  EUR  2.8  billion.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  increase  cross  thematic  activities  and 
cooperations with third countries through the launching of joint or coordinated calls.  

In  the  Ideas  Programme,  the  first  call  for  "Advanced  Grants"  was  published  in  2008.  More 
than 2000 proposals were received for this call and 275 were selected, with a total requested 
Community contribution of some EUR 589 million.  

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COM(2008) 862  
COM(2008) 534  
An Operational Programme (OP) presents the priorities of the Member State (and/or regions) benefiting 
from the funds 
See http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/atlas2007/index_en.htm  
See http://erc.europa.eu 
See http://ec.europa.eu/research/rea  
With the exception of the Ideas Specific Programme and Euratom 

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The People programme  supports a range of actions to  foster  the  training and networking of 
researchers,  career  development,  life-long  learning  and  industry-academia  partnership.  In 
2008, 4563 proposals were submitted and some 1200 retained. 

The Capacities programme aims at developing the best possible resources and conditions for 
Europe's  research  community.  In  total,  1659  proposals  were  submitted  for  the  different 
activities of the programme, and 281 retained, with a total requested Community contribution 
of some EUR 782 million. 

Regarding  the  Euratom  FP7,  38  proposals  were  submitted  on  nuclear  fission  and  radiation 
protection  and  18  of  them  were  retained  for  funding,  with  a  total  requested  Community 
contribution of some EUR 52 million. 

During  2008,  the  Joint  Research  Centre  has  continued  to  pursue  its  research  activities 
according  to  its  specific  programmes,  contributing  to  the  implementation  of  the  FP7  direct 
actions in support to European policy makers.  

In  the  course  of  2008,  the  guidelines  on  the  redress  procedure  were  revised.  The  Rules  for 
submission  of  proposals,  and  the  related  evaluation,  selection  and  award  procedures32  were 
also  revised  in  relation  to  the  ethical  review  procedures,  the  handling  of  security-sensitive 
RTD  actions  and  the  evaluation  scoring.  Moreover,  the  work  programmes33  for  all  FP7 
Specific  Programmes  were  updated  in  2008.  The  coordination  of  the  inter-institutional 
relations  with  the  Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of Regions, as well as CREST, was ensured. 

Throughout 2008, several improvements have been made to the support infrastructure of FP7. 
This includes the first full year of operation of the central evaluation facility and the launch of 
the  Unique  Registration  Facility  (URF).  Work  has  also  been  ongoing  on  developing 
acceptability criteria under which FP7 beneficiaries are allowed to charge personnel costs on 
the basis of average personnel cost calculations. Preparatory work has also been done on the 
revision of the 60 % transitional flat rate for indirect costs. 

The  high  level  of  usage  of  the  Community  Research  and  Development  Information  Service 
CORDIS  (16,4  million  visits)34  as  well  as  its  high  level  of  availability  (97,8%)  were 
confirmed  throughout  2008.  All  FP7  calls  for  proposals  were  published  on  time.  The  2008 
user satisfaction survey showed a high level of satisfaction, in particular with CORDIS News, 
FP7 pages and the email notification services. The number of subscriptions to the research*eu 
supplements35 has doubled during 2008, demonstrating the interest of users in this publication. 

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See ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/fp7/docs/fp7-evrules_en.pdf  
See http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/find-doc_en.html#workprogrammes  
http://cordis.europa.eu  
http://ec.europa.eu/research/research-eu/index_en.html  

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4. 

DEVELOPMENTS IN MEMBER STATES AND APPLICATION OF THE OPEN METHOD OF 
COORDINATION 

4.1. 

The Open Method of Coordination in support of reaching the 3 % objective 

In  the  3%  action  plan36,  the  Open  Method  of  Coordination  (OMC)  was  identified  as  an 
important tool to help raise the EU's R&D intensity to approach 3% GDP by 2010. The OMC 
has  since  operated  in  yearly  cycles.  CREST  launched  a  fourth  cycle  in  December  2007 
establishing  CREST  Working  Groups  on  universities,  industry-led  competence  centres, 
internationalisation of R&D and policy mix peer reviews for Austria and Bulgaria37. 

CREST  also  carries  out  an  annual  mutual  learning  exercise  based  on  the  National  Reform 
Programmes in the context of the revised Lisbon Strategy. The 2008 exercise focused on the 
progress  made  on  national  investment  targets  and  on  the  contribution  of  national  R&D 
strategies to realising the European Research Area.  

The  OMC-NET38  scheme  was  developed  in  order  to  support  mutual  learning  and  policy 
coordination  activities  carried  out  by  more  limited  groups  of  Member  States  and/or  their 
regions on policy issues of their specific interest. As a result of a call launched in September 
2007, seven projects were selected for funding in 2008. 

In  the  particular  domain  of  agricultural  research,  the  Standing  Committee  on  Agricultural 
Research  (SCAR)  plays  an  important  role  in  facilitating  agricultural  research  coordination 
across  Europe  in  close  collaboration  with  the  network  of  Member  States'  representatives  on 
the Knowledge Based Bio Economy. 

4.2. 

Trends in public and private research investment 

R&D intensity 

The  EU-27  R&D  intensity  measured  as  Gross  Expenditures  on  Research  and  Development 
(GERD) as a percentage of GDP was 1.83% in 2007. Although real R&D expenditures have 
increased  with  19.6%  over  the  same  period,  R&D  intensity  has  stagnated  due  to  a 
corresponding increase in GDP.  

The  stability  of  R&D  intensity  at  the  overall  EU  level  hides  a  much  more  diverse 
development at the level of the Member States. In particular, R&D intensity has increased in 
17 Member States over the period 2000-2007. On the other hand, the ten remaining Member 
States  (Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Greece,  France,  Luxembourg,  the  Netherlands  Poland,  Slovakia, 
Sweden, United Kingdom – representing all together about 47.1% of EU-27 GDP) have seen 
their  R&D  intensities  decrease  over  the  period  2000-2007.  Considerable  increases  in  R&D 
intensity  have  mostly  taken  place  in  countries  with  low  R&D  intensity,  Austria  being  the 
exception,  demonstrating  that  R&D  intensity  growth  has  mainly  been  a  process  of  catching 
up.  

Since 2005, each Member State (except for Bulgaria) has set a national R&D intensity target. 
These  national  targets  may  differ  from  the  overall  3%  target  for  the  EU,  depending  on  the 

36 
37 
38 

COM(2003) 226  
See http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/coordination/coordination01_en.htm  
See http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/coordination/coordination02_en.htm  

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particular  situation  of  each  Member  State  regarding  R&D  expenditure.  Figure  1  shows  the 
progress  made  by  each  Member  State  towards  its  own  R&D  intensity  target  (grey)  and 
progress that is still to be made (blue), showing that many Member States (and the EU-27 as a 
whole)  still  need  to  make  considerable  effort  to  start  progressing  towards  their  respective 
targets.  

Trends in R&D funding39 

R&D  financed  by  government  as  a  percentage  of  GDP  in  EU-27  equalled  0.63%  in  2005, 
against  0.64%  in  2000.  Adding  Community  funds  and  foregone  tax  revenue  to  this  figure 
would bring government R&D funding closer to the level reached in the US. As with overall 
R&D intensity, the picture at Member State level is more dynamic. Fourteen Member States 
have increased government support for R&D over the period 2000-2007. On the other hand, a 
slight decrease was observed in Germany and France, and a limited increase observed in the 
United Kingdom and  Italy.  The  fact  that these four Member  States account  for a very large 
share of the total government budget for R&D in EU-27 explains the stagnation observed at 
EU level. 

R&D financed  by the business sector  is at a level  of 1.00 % GDP in  the EU-27, while  it is 
considerably  higher  in  the  US  (1.69  %  GDP)  and  more  than  twice  as  high  in  South  Korea 
(2.43  %  GDP)  and  Japan  (2.62  %  GDP).  It  is  noted  that  private  funding  of  R&D  increased 
substantially in Japan and South Korea between 2000 and 2006, but decreased in the US over 
the same period. 

As for overall R&D intensity, increases in business enterprise funding of R&D have basically 
been linked to the catching-up process of Member States starting from a low level. This has 
not been sufficient to increase overall private EU R&D funding. 

39 

R&D is funded from four sources : national business, national government, other national sources and 
abroad.  

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Austr ia (2.66)

Estonia (1.29)

Portugal (1.18)

Spain (1.27)

Czech Re public (1.54)

Ire land (4) (1.45)

De nm ark  (2.55)

Lithuania (0.82)

Cyprus (0.45)

Romania (0.53)

Latvia (0.59)

Finland (3.46)

Hungary (0.97)

Italy (1.13)

Ge rm any (2.54)

Slove nia (1.45)

Malta (0.59)

Sw eden (3.60)

Gre ece (0.57)

UK (1.79)

Luxem bour g (1.62)

Bulgaria (5) (0.48)

France (2.08)

Poland (0.57)

Be lgium (1.87)

Ne the rlands  (1.70)

Slovak ia (0.46)

EU-27 (1.85)

-0,4

-0,2

0,0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1,0

1,2

1,4

1,6

1,8

Pe rce ntage  points

Pr ogres s m ade 2000-2007 (2)

Progr ess  to be  m ade  2007-2010 (3)

Source : DG Research 
Data: Eurostat, Member States 
Notes: 
(1) IT: 2006; EE, IE, AT, FI: 2008. 
(2) IT: 2000-2006; EE, IE, AT, FI: 2000-2008; EL: 2001-2007; FR, HU, MT: 2004-2007; SE : 2005-2007. 
(3) IT: 2006-2010; UK : 2007-2014; FR: 2007-2012; EL : 2007-2015; EE, IE, AT: 2008-2010; FI: 2008-2011. 
(4) IE: The R&D intensity target for 2010 was estimated by DG Research. 
(5) BG has not set an R&D intensity target. 

Figure 1 : R&D intensity - progress towards the 2010 targets (in percentage points); in 
brackets : R&D intensity, 2007 (1) 

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4.3. 

Trends in research policies 

In  2008,  national  policies  for  R&D  evolved  towards  more  complex  and  coherent  policy 
mixes, with many Member States focusing on implementation of strategies and some others 
developing  new  ones.  Broadening  the  scope  of  strategies  and  changing  the  institutional 
settings for R&D policy-making are consistent trends.  

As a response to the financial and economic crisis, Member States have put in place economic 
recovery  packages,  in  which  many  Member  States  have  attached  great  importance  to  R&D, 
although  in  a  few  of  the  hardest  hit  countries,  public  budgets  are  expected  to  be  cut 
significantly  and  private  budgets  are  under  pressure.  As  direct  relief  to  the  private  sector, 
many Member States opt to strengthen existing R&D tax incentives. 

Almost all Member States focus on developing high-tech sectors in their economy. In many 
Member  States,  strategically  important  scientific  domains  or  industrial  sectors  have  been 
identified  where  support  is  to  be  concentrated.  This  concentration  can  follow  a  variety  of 
routes: thematic collaborative research programmes, clustering initiatives, dedicated thematic 
research  institutes  or  support  to  New  Technology  Based  Firms  (NTBF).  A  novel  approach 
that  is  gaining  ground  is  one  whereby  the  concentration  of  resources  is  based  on  societal 
challenges instead of research domains or industrial sectors. 

Increasing the quality and efficiency of the public research base continues to be a key aspect 
of R&D policy reform in many Member States. In this context, institutional restructuring of 
the  public  research  base  is  an  ongoing  process,  generally  driven  by  the  need  to  assure  that 
public research can meet the highest standards at world scale. 

It is important that national policymakers take explicit account of the European perspective in 
their  national  policies  in  order  to  maximise  the  benefits  from  synergies  and  spill-overs. 
Instruments  offered  by  the  Framework  Programme  continue  to  be  the  main  tools  used  for 
ensuring coordination between national research programmes. Progress in opening up national 
research programmes is still limited, although there are a number of examples where Member 
States are reinforcing their cooperation at bilateral level. Many Member States have in recent 
years started to develop schemes to attract top researchers from abroad, as an additional way 
to  strengthen  their  national  systems.  All  Member  States  are  actively  following  and 
participating in the activities of the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures and 
are in some cases complementing them with work on the development of national roadmaps 
or by reserving national funding for participation in ESFRI projects. 

5. 

OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE 

The achievements listed above paved the way for 2009, the third year of FP7 implementation 
and a year of further developments for ERA. 

Following  their  launch  in  2008,  the  focus  in  2009  will  be  on  implementing  the  five 
Community ERA initiatives and taking further steps towards realising the 2020 ERA vision. 
The FP6 ex-post evaluation, the FP7 Progress Report and the ERC review represent important 
milestones  towards  the  FP7  interim  evaluation  and  the  review  of  the  European  Union's 
financial framework.  

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6. 

SOURCES OF FURTHER INFORMATION 

More details are included in the Staff Working Document that accompanies this Report. For 
further information, the following are publicly available :  

Annual Monitoring Reports for the Framework Programme and its Specific Programmes; 

Five-year assessment reports; 

Regular  Science,  Technology  and  Competitiveness  Key  Figures  reports,  taking  stock  of 
Europe's  performance  in  research,  science,  technology  and  competitiveness  and  providing 
information on progress towards realising the European Research Area; 

Statistics on science and technology in Europe (Eurostat); 

Studies  and  analyses  published  in  connection  with  Community  research  activities  and 
policies; 
The practical guide to EU funding opportunities for research and innovation40 

Most of these documents can be obtained or ordered from the following websites :  

The EUROPA site : http://europa.eu/index_en.htm; 

The CORDIS site: http://cordis.europa.eu; 

The Commission's Research website : http://ec.europa.eu/research; 

The ERA website : http://ec.europa.eu/research/era; 

The Investing in European research website : http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research; 

The ERAWATCH website : http://cordis.europa.eu/erawatch;  

The  website 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/research/index_en.html; 

of 

the  Commission's  Directorate-General 

for  Research 

The  website  of 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/information_society/index_en.html; 

the  Commission's  Directorate-General  for  Information  Society 

The  website 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/enterprise/index_en.html; 

of 

the  Commission's  Directorate-General 

for 

Enterprise 

: 

: 

: 

The  website  of  the  Commission's  Directorate-General  for  Transport  and  Energy  : 
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/index_en.html; 

The website of the Joint Research Centre : http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm; 

The Eurostat website : http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu 

40 

See http://cordis.europa.eu/eu-funding-guide/home_en.html  

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