The Open Method of Coordination as an example of policy learning at the European Level Six Countries Programme Stockholm 23-24 May 2006 Peder Christensen DG RTD.M.2

The 3% objective Barcelona summit in 2002 - target of investment in R&D: « to approach 3% in 2010 » With an «appropriate split» 1/3 financed by public funds and by 2/3 private – i.e. 1% public/2% private For the EU in 2003: - R&D expenditure in % of GDP: 1.93% - Financed by business: 55% (Source: Key Figures 2005)

Reaching the 3% objective Main lines of action: The «3% Action Plan» in 2003 (Open Method of Coordination 3%, Community Actions etc.) The National Reform Programmes introduced by Lisbon II Note: the Framework Programmes make up a relatively small proportion of overall EU R&D spending

The Open Method of Coordination 3% (OMC 3%) (1) Background: At the Spring summit in 2003 it was decided to apply the OMC to R&D policy making The Competitiveness Council entrusted CREST to be the operational interface between Member States when applying the OMC CREST is the EU’s Scientific and Technical Research Committee

The Open Method of Coordination 3% (2) Aim: To achieve greater convergence towards EU goals by helping Member States progressively improve their own policies in areas where policy competence lies primarily at national level Means: Mutual learning Concerted/joint actions between Member States or regions Community initiatives reinforcing actions at Member State level

The Open Method of Coordination 3% (3) The 1st cycle (November 03 – June 04): Five CREST Expert Groups: - Public Research Base and Links with Industry - SMEs and Research - Fiscal Measures for Research - Intellectual Property and Research - Research Public Spending and Policy Mixes CREST report (October 2004) : 30 recommendations

The Open Method of Coordination 3% (4) The 2nd cycle (November 04 – May 06): Five CREST Expert Groups: - Public Research Base and Links with Industry - Measures for promoting research intensive SMEs - Fiscal Measures for Research - Intellectual Property and Research - Policy Mix Group CREST report (May 2006)

The Open Method of Coordination 3% (5) Reinforcing the OMC 3% in the future: Continue to work with groups of Member State Experts Launch OMC-NET (pilot call euro 8.7 mill) Establish sub-groups of CREST Link the OMC 3% more to the Lisbon Strategy and in particular the National Reform Programmes

The National Reform Programmes (1) Member States submitted National Reform Programmes (NRPs) in October 2005 Basis for the NRPs: “Integrated Guidelines 2005” Broad Economic Policy Guidelines Employment Guidelines Commission assessed the National Reform Programmes in November/December 2005 Commission reported to Spring Summit 2006 in its Annual Progress Report (APR)

The National Reform Programmes (5) In 2006 Member State Progress Reports: June/July 2006 – country visits 1- 15 October 2006 – Progress Reports are presented November/December - assessment by Commission APR 2006 adopted before Christmas 2006

The National Reform Programmes (6) Summary of assessment: R&D intensity < 1%: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Portugal 1% < R&D intensity < 2%: Spain, Italy, Ireland, The Netherlands, The UK, Luxembourg, Slovenia, The Czech republic 2% < R&D intensity < 3%: France, Austria Belgium, Germany, Denmark R&D intensity > 3%: Sweden, Finland

The National Reform Programmes (7) Common themes: Increase investment in public research Improved public-private sector interaction Increased relevance of public R&D Improved knowledge transfer Public-Private Partnerships Promote research intensive SMEs Increase number of researchers

Combining the NRPs and the OMC 3% The NRPs provide a complete overview of the policy mix of a country including the place of research Many common themes between the OMC 3% and the parts of the NRPs concerned with research The NRPs effectively provides a « feed-back » loop on implementation of OMC 3% measures Proposal: to use the NRPs as a basis for mutual learning in the OMC3%

Will we reach 3%...? All Member States have set targets for their R&D investment in 2010 and most NRPs are quite ambitious on R&D If Member States reach their targets, then it is likely that the EU will be around 2.6-2.7% in 2010 (APR 2005 and Summit Conclusions) However, it may be more important in which way the target of 3% is approached

Thank you for your attention! http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/index_en.htm

Reaching the 3% objective (1) Is easy…… The UK, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands account for about 85% of R&D expenditures in the EU. If they were to increase by 50%, then…. But is that the purpose?

The National Reform Programmes (2) Integrated Guideline 7: The overall objective for 2010 of 3% of GDP is confirmed with an adequate split between private and public investment, Member States will define specific intermediate levels Member States should further develop a mix of measures appropriate to foster R&D, in particular business R&D, through:

The National Reform Programmes (3) Integrated Guideline 7 (continued): 1. improved framework conditions and ensuring that companies operate in a sufficiently competitive and attractive environment 2. more effective and efficient public expenditure on R&D and developing PPPs 3. developing and strengthening centres of excellence of educational and research institutions in Member States, as well as creating new ones where appropriate, and improving the cooperation and transfer of technologies between public research institute and private enterprises;

The National Reform Programmes (4) Integrated Guideline 7 (continued): 4. developing and making better use of incentives to leverage private R&D; 5. modernising the management of research institutions and universities; 6. ensuring a sufficient supply of qualified researchers by attracting more students into scientific, technical and engineering disciplines and enhancing the career development and the European, international as well as intersectoral mobility of researchers and development personnel.