COMPETITIVENESS COUNCIL : JTIS A KEY INITIATIVE FOR INNOVATION, SAY MINISTERS.

• Position: Joint Technology Initiatives

Ministers set out their priorities for forthcoming action to improve the EU's competitiveness on 4 December, during a wide-ranging Competitiveness Council debate on innovation policy.

One initiative given particular attention was the intention, as part of the 7th Framework Programme, to set up Joint Technology Initiatives, which will be public private partnerships in particular research areas (see Europolitics 3185). Many delegations stressed the need for the Commission to move as quickly as possible in presenting proposals to launch JTIs, and noted that the first of these proposals are expected in February.

The Commission has outlined six possible areas where JTIs could be set up, and member states have divergent opinions as to which ones should be prioritised. France, while supporting the EU executive's opinion that prospective JTIs in the areas of innovative medicines and embedded systems are among the most advanced, also believes that those in the fields of aeronautics and air transport, as well as nanoelectronics, have "matured enough". Germany and the Netherlands also made the case for nanoelectronics, while the Spanish delegation noted that it would have liked to see other research areas added to the list of six - notably construction and electronic communication. A point made by many delegations on this topic was the need to ensure participation of SMEs.

EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Ministers also discussed the...