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  • Europa wil robuust kennisbeleid

    - "In the new economy refined knowledge will replace crude oil as the prime force." Aldus de nieuwe Eurocommissaris voor innovatie en R&D, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, tijdens de hoorzitting voor haar benoeming. Zij kondigt aan dat zij de €86 miljard voor regionale fondsen in Europa sterk op kennis wil gaan richten.

    Zij maakt in Brussel de indruk een zeer stevige dame te zijn. Dat blijkt ook uit haar opmerkingen dat zij de kennisportefeuilles, inclusief die van Neelie Kroes, zal coördineren en dit geen 'talking shop' zal zijn. "I'm into action. There has been enough talking about research and innovation, it's time for results. We need to move from a decade of debate about Europe to one of delivery." 

    Geoghegan-Quinn said her role will tie together the work of several arms of the EU executive and promised to be a "robust" member of the college of commissioners. The new innovation position is an "over-arching" and "cross-cutting" role, said Geoghegan-Quinn, a former Irish justice minister.

    She will chair a group of commissioners including those with responsibility for the digital agenda, industry, energy and education. However, she was quick to stress that this committee would not be a talking shop and would deliver concrete results. [bron: Euractiv]