Innovation for job creation

In March 2000 the European Council adopted the Lisbon strategy, aimed at bringing about economic, social and environmental renewal in the EU. The creation of a European Research Area is a central element of the goal to develop "in the EU by 2010 the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion".

Two years later, at the Barcelona European Council, EU governments agreed that investment in Research and Development in the EU must be increased to approach 3% of GDP by 2010. At the same time the proportion of innovation activities funded by private business is targeted to reach two-thirds of the total R&D goal.

One of the tools developed by the EU to track progress towards a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy is the European Innovation Scoreboard. The Scoreboard consists of a number of indicators mapping education and training of human resources, employment in medium-to-high-tech manufacturing and services, knowledge generation, transmission and application of new knowledge, financial support for innovation, Internet access, and value-added in medium-to-high-tech manufacturing and services.

The Scoreboard indicators for Malta show a mixed picture, with strengths and weaknesses in various areas. In general, indicators reflecting activities resulting from foreign direct investment compare quite well with EU averages, while indicators that reflect human resources training in science and engineering, direct investment in R&D, and SME innovation-related activities show that local performance lags behind EU averages.

Conscious of this disparity, the government has this year started a national Research, Technological Development and Innovation (RTDI) programme with the aim of encouraging science and engineering research, as well as RTDI activities by industry, particularly SMEs, in Malta. The first call for proposals under the RTDI programme has just been issued by the Malta Council for Science and Technology.

Malta is also participating in the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) of the EU, running from 2002-2006, which has the European Research Area as its main focus, fostering the integration of European research activities. Already a number of Maltese entities have received funding from Brussels for their participation in approved collaborative projects and networks of excellence in various science and engineering fields.

Both FP6 and RTDI offer new opportunities for SMEs in Malta to obtain funding for their R&D and innovation activities, thereby enhancing their competitivity in the market, leading to job creation. Moreover, the two programmes promote the collaboration of SMEs with innovative research entities, both in Malta and in the EU.

All these initiatives are in line with the policies and strategies which Malta must pursue to stimulate economic momentum and ensure economic competitiveness. Such policies were clearly outlined in the memorandum for the European Parliamentary elections presented last week by the Malta Business Bureau to contesting candidates.

The memorandum makes it clear that Maltese business should prosper inside the EU. For this to be achieved, however, a number of conditions need to be satisfied. These include the acceleration of structural reforms, especially in utilities and transport, the creation of incentives to attract high quality researchers into Malta, as well as the promotion of measures to stimulate female participation in all sectors of the economy.

One of the crucial roles of future MEPs is to pursue these aims courageously and relentlessly and to maintain direct lines of communication between EU institutions and all the social partners in Malta, including government, employers, businesses, trade unions and other representatives of civil society.

Professor Friggieri is a Nationalist candidate in Saturday's election for the European Parliament.