EU technology institute back in firing

Bickering over proposals for a European Institute of Technology (EIT) will resume later this month (25 September), when EU research and industry ministers discuss the European Commission’s communication on innovation.

While member states are broadly united in their support for the wide-ranging communication, which was published yesterday (13 September), disagreement over issues such as the EIT, among others, could undermine the Commission’s aim to create a cohesive EU-wide innovation policy.

A German diplomat signalled his government’s continued opposition to the idea of the EIT as a flagship degree-awarding institution. "We have a lot of top-level institutions in Europe," he said. "The term EIT implies MIT, based in a specific location, which is exactly what we don’t want."

Holger Rasmussen, chief adviser at the Danish ministry of science and technology, said: "We are in favour of supporting EIT as long as it is just a network linking the best universities in Europe."

The Commission issued the communication at the behest of the Finnish presidency following calls from the European Council in March for an umbrella strategy covering all areas of innovation. The subject of the EIT, widely viewed as a pet project of Commission President José Manuel Barroso, sparked debate in June when the Commission outlined initial steps for its creation. Concrete proposals from the Commission are expected in October.

State aid is another element of the document that could spark disagreement at the Competitiveness Council meeting in Brussels. In its communication, the Commission raises the possibility of aid for young innovative start-ups. "The state aid guidelines need to be updated," said one Swedish diplomat. "We’re very much in favour of revisiting the whole package, although we might have some concerns on the issue of what ‘innovative’ is."

Luke Georghiou, of Manchester Business School, a member of the four-person expert group on innovation set up following the European Council of October 2005, warned that member states risked losing momentum. "They [member states] now need to keep their eye on the ball," he said. "It’s important not to think that existing measures can be repackaged. It’s important to keep things moving in the right direction.

"What it [the communication] shows is that innovation policy is not seen as an offshoot of research and enterprise policy."

The Finnish presidency is keen to see progress on the development of an EU innovation policy before the end of the year. "The discussion [at the forthcoming Council meeting] will give us indications on directions member states would like to see innovation policy go," said a Finnish diplomat. "It is for them to define what they want to get out of it…the presidency is open to new initiatives."

Bickering over proposals for a European Institute of Technology (EIT) will resume later this month (25 September), when EU research and industry ministers discuss the European Commission’s communication on innovation.