"We will boost the financing of the economy by mobilising around
120 billion euro for immediate growth measures", zei Herman van
Rompuy content. In dat bedrag zit ook €5 miljard voor de pilot met
de zogeheten 'projectbonds', waarover president Barroso eerder dit
jaar met ScienceGuide sprak.
Zo'n €55 miljard uit de Europese structuurfondsen zal worden
verschoven naar projecten die wetenschappelijk onderzoek, MKB en
bestrijding van de jeugdwerkloosheid impulsen geven. "The
Structural Funds have reallocated funds in support of research and
innovation, SMEs and youth employment and a further EUR 55 billion
will be devoted to growth enhancing measures in the current
period."
Investering in leerlingwezen en
stages
Die plannen krijgen steun uit dat geld "notably to improve young
people's first work experience and their participation in the
labour market, with the objective that within a few months of
leaving school, young people receive a good quality offer of
employment, continued education, an apprenticeship, or a
traineeship, which can be supported by the ESF." Stages en
leerlingwezen worden hiermee gestimuleerd, een investering waar ook
Angela Merkel al vaker voor pleitte.
De modernisering van de infrastructuur voor de kenniseconomie
krijgt nog langs een andere lijn een boost. Neelie Kroes heeft haar
hoofdprioriteit van beleid in het Groeipact weten te drukken.
"Swift progress is required to achieve a well-functioning Digital
Single Market by 2015, which will provide new dynamism to the
European economy. In particular, priority should be given to
measures aimed at further developing cross-border online trade,
including by facilitating the transition to e-invoicing, and
promoting the cross-border use of e-identification and other
e-services. It is also crucial to boost demand for the roll-out of
high-speed internet, modernise Europe's copyright regime and
facilitate licensing, while ensuring a high level of protection of
intellectual property rights and taking into account cultural
diversity."
Impulsen voor R&D en valorisatie
Van Rompuy laat de regeringsleiders nog eens benadrukken, dat
voor een innovatief en dynamisch Europa een snelle versterking van
de Europese Onderzoek Ruimte essentieel is. "The European Research
Area must be strengthened, in particular by improving support to
R&D and investment opportunities for innovative start-ups and
SMEs. The future programme for the competitiveness of enterprises
and SMEs (COSME) and the Horizon 2020 programme will help
innovative SMEs access financing.
It is of particular importance to strengthen key enabling
technologies which are of systemic importance for the
innovativeness and competitiveness of industry and the whole
economy, including in areas such nanotechnology, biotechnology and
advanced materials."
Door de Europese Investeringsbank extra kapitaalsruimte te
bieden kan bovendien de investering in slimme groei extra
aangejaagd worden. "The EIB's paid-in capital should be increased
by EUR 10 billion, with the aim of strengthening its capital basis
as well as increasing its overall lending capacity by EUR 60
billion, and thus unlock up to EUR 180 billion of additional
investment, spread across the whole European Union, including in
the most vulnerable countries."
Deens succes bij 1 patent
Een belangrijke impuls en kostenreductie wordt nu ook mogelijk
door het Europese patent, dat na vele jaren van conflicten tussen
de lidstaten en de Commissie in Brussel is geaccordeerd. Volgens
eerst berekeningen zouden bedrijven -met name in het MKB- ongeveer
€300 mln besparen door een eensluidend patent voor heel de EU.
"After thirty years of negotiations, we now have an agreement on
the European patent. The European businesses will now experience -
when we have it finalised - that instead of applying for patent in
27 member states, they can now apply in one place. And that will be
good for growth and business in Europe", zei de opgeluchte Deens
premier Helle Thorning-Schmidt, die hier een doorbraak wist te
bereiken.
De nu gevonden opzet is in de kern de volgende: "The future
unitary patent would be valid in all participating member states
and be obtained with a single application. The use of languages
would draw inspiration from the current system managed by the
European Patent Office, where the working languages are English,
French and German, and this will cut down the costs of acquiring
patent protection. Obtaining a patent that would be valid in 13
member states today can cost up to 20 000 euro, and approximately
14 000 euro of that sum would be spent on translations alone. In
comparison, it costs approximately 1 850 euro to obtain an American
patent."