CREST Reports on the application of the Open Method of Coordination in favour of the Barcelona Research Investment Objective

CREST is an advisory body whose function is to assist the Council and the Commission in performing the tasks incumbent on them in the sphere of RTD. Following the Commission's action plan concerning the Barcelona objective of increasing R&D investment in the EU with the aim of approaching 3 % of GDP by 2010 and subsequent conclusions by the European Council and the Competitiveness Council, CREST was asked to act as an operational interface to define and oversee the implementation of the open method of co-ordination (OMC) in respect of the 3% objective.

OMC is the soft governance tool, agreed between Member States in Lisbon, to ensure satisfactory progress in policy areas which are primarily of Member State competence. OMC involves: fixing guidelines for the Union combined with specific timetables for achieving the goals which they set in the short, medium and long terms; establishing, where appropriate, quantitative and qualitative indicators and benchmarks against the best in the world and tailored to the needs of different Member States and sectors as a means of comparing best practice; translating these European guidelines into national and regional policies by setting specific targets and adopting measures, taking into account national and regional differences; periodic monitoring, evaluation and peer review organised as mutual learning processes.

The Competitiveness Council proposed that CREST, with its existing mandate to coordinate Member States policy-making, should act as the operational interface between Member States when applying the OMC to policies supporting the Barcelona objective.

European Commission: CREST Report Application of the Open Method of Coordination in favour of the Barcelona research investment objective. Second cycle, 2006 http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/pdf/download_en/crest_int-synthesis.pdf

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