Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-10-Speech-4-011"
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"en.20070510.5.4-011"2
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"Madam President, I have the honour of presenting the Committee on Regional Development's own initiative report on the contribution of the future regional policy to the European Union's innovative capacity.
Our Community has two basic objectives in terms of regional policy: to strengthen cohesion in all dimensions and to support and organise activities that foster innovation. Let the conclusion that, in principle, everything that takes place in the European Union takes place in a region, a town or a village, not seem a truism. Thus, it is not here or, to be more precise, not only in Brussels or Strasbourg, that our future is being shaped. Around two thirds of Community legislation is currently implemented at a regional and local level.
The report, which was the subject of a very fruitful discussion in the Committee on Regional Development, is addressed to Member States, the European Commission and, above all, the regional and local authorities. It is also aimed at other bodies, especially academic institutions, research centres and small and medium sized enterprises, which could also be very effective and flexible vehicles for innovation. Regional policy cannot only be used for authorising projects and managing structural funds in a more or less satisfactory manner. It also has to contribute to improving the European Union's innovative capacity. This capacity should be viewed as complementary action in fields such as research and technology, law and finance, the economy and trade, management and administration, energy and the environment, education, social issues, health and culture. In other words, action should be taken right across the board. There are infinite opportunities for us to do something new, something better. I would like to emphatically stress that all of these features have a regional dimension. The action taken should contribute to achieving real cohesion within the Union, and should be proof of harmonised, sustainable growth and solidarity within the Community, which are things that are often mentioned here. The aim is to also decrease the existing and marked imbalance between growth rates in certain regions in the European Union.
We should also remember that a well implemented regional policy fosters innovation. In turn, innovation encourages further growth. A very profitable symbiosis is therefore achieved.
I do not want to repeat here what is included in my report. However, I would like to thank all those who contributed to the creation of this document. I would like to thank my colleagues here in Brussels, in Strasbourg and in Poland. I would like to thank all the members of the Committee, and the coordinator in particular, for the fruitful debate and the amendments tabled. I would like to thank the representatives of the European Commission, the Committee of the Regions and the Presidency. As in the case of Mr Andria’s report, all contributions have been very constructive.
Let us be aware that, out of all the regions in the EU, only 21 (in other words less than 10%), spend more than 3% of GDP on research and development. Therefore, if we want to implement the Lisbon Strategy, we need more investment in its implementation at a regional level.
Another point to which I would like to draw your attention is the matter of universal and equal access to education at all levels, including at postgraduate level. This is the key to further growth in the Community.
Yesterday, the Nobel Prize winner Timothy Hunt spoke in this House. He expressed his concern regarding the fact that, out of the top 20 universities in the world, 15 are American, one is Japanese, three are British and one is Swiss. This is a signal for the European Union, in terms of what we need to achieve. Cheap access to the Internet also plays a very important role here, as do financial instruments, rural areas and regional innovation criteria.
Meanwhile, others are wide awake. While we are debating the issue, 25 000 new citizens are born in China and 31 000 are born in India every day. Meanwhile, the number of Europeans is shrinking. For us, innovation must also include the issue of families. Let us not waste time, money or energy. Let us find solutions. They are not easy, but no one ever said that we should only solve easy problems."@en1
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