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European Economic and Social Committee- EESC ready to take risks to develop information and communication technologies

By Germaine Lombardo for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:December 18, 2009

EESC members unanimously approved the opinion to strengthen research and development and innovation on information and communication technologies (ICT) at its plenary session in December. The opinion, coupled with the Commission’s proposal to revamp ICT, is recognised as part of a larger scheme to bolster Europe’s global competitiveness and maintain economic recovery.

In order to ensure economic security in the long term, the Commission plans to strengthen initiatives in ICT, specifically by increasing funding and research for Future and Emerging Technologies (FET), a sub-programme which will help lay the foundations for future ICT. Rapporteur Anna Maria Darmanin (Group II, Malta) says that “investment in new foundations is needed to put Europe in a strong position in innovation in the future.” With EESC support, the Commission proposes to increase the FET budget within ICT by 20% as well as increase its relative share of the budget in the future.

In addition to increasing the funding pool, which the EESC appeals the Member States and their funding organisations to contribute to, coordination between national and EU level R&D programs and creating an attractive programme for young and top researchers are on the agenda to strengthen research in this field.

A notable comment in the opinion regards its position on accepting failure and creating a hospitable environment for taking high risks. By nature, novel and innovative exploration projects, such as the FET programme, are high risk developments balanced by significant payoffs; and in order to move ahead with the project, some failures must be expected without stigmatising any researchers involved.

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