As the Cypriot government gears up for implementing the EU-wide Lisbon strategy, it was an appropriate moment for Portugal’s Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, José Mariano Gago, to give a lecture at the Central Bank on Friday of what the Lisbon Strategy or Lisbon Agenda, is trying to achieve.
A synopsis of the lecture is reproduced below.
Target 2010
In March 2000 European leaders committed the EU to become by 2010
“the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for the environment”.
It became known as the Lisbon Strategy and consists of a series of reforms.
Key policies
*Transition to a knowledge-based economy and society by better policies for the information society and R&D.
*Stepping up structural reform in competitiveness and innovation.
*Completing the internal market.
*Investing in people and fighting social exclusion.
*Appropriate macro-economic policy mix.
Implementation will be bolstered with a stronger guiding and coordination role for the European Council (member state governments).
A meeting of the European Council on the Lisbon Strategy will be held every Spring.
Some of the key goals
*A European Area of Research and Innovation.
*Investing in “an information society for all”.
*Raising R&D spending to 3% of GDP by 2010.
*An autonomous European Research Council (ERC) to fund and co-ordinate long term basic research.
*An ERC to support cutting-edge research.
*Two-thirds of R&D spending to come from private sector.
*Greater networking of national programmes.
*Improve the environment for private research investment, R&D partnerships and high-technology start ups.
*Emphasis on frontier technologies, notably biotechnology and environmental technologies.
Removing barriers
*Introduce a cost-effective Community patent.
*Remove obstacles to the mobility of researchers and attract and retain high-quality research talent in Europe.
*Introduce a world-class research communications infrastructure
Information Society for All
*100% of schools to be connected to the internet by 2002.
*All teachers to have training in digital skills by 2003.
*Ensure a significant reduction in the cost of using the internet.
*Create conditions for e-commerce to flourish.
*Prevent info-exclusion.
*Stimulate eGovernment.
*Support take up of 3G mobile communications and introduction of Internet Protocol version 6 .
*Launch the Galileo programme.
Education and Training
*Substantial increase in per capita spending on human resources.
*Promote life-long learning.
*Halving the number of early school leavers.
*Adapt skills base to needs of knowledge society.
*Improve the adaptability of workers and enterprises and the flexibility of labour markets.
*Invest more in human capital through better education and skills.
*Better recognition of qualifications.
*Promoting and facilitating mobility, including fast-track work permits for researchers.
*Promote learning of E.U. languages and introduce a European dimension to education and training.
*Promote school twinning via internet.
Relaunching the European area of Knowledge
*Support innovative SMEs, high-tech start-ups, joint research between undertakings and universities, access to risk capital.
*Refocus public procurement on innovative products and services, developing partnerships for innovation and innovation centres at regional and local level.
