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Key Figures 2007 EUR 22572 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Research ISBN 92-79-03450-2 Towards a European Research Area Science, Technology and Innovation Key Figures 2007 EUR 22572 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Research Key Figures 2007 Towards a European Research Area Science, Technology and Innovation STRENGTHENING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA Support for the coherent development of policies 2007 EUR 22572 EN Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. LEGAL NOTICE: Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2007 ISBN 92-79-03450-2 © European Communities, 2007 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium Printed on white chlorine-free paper Key Figures 2007 3 EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR RESEARCH Commissioner: Janez Potočnik Director General: J. M. Silva Rodríguez The Directorate-General for Research initiates, develops and follows the Commission’s political initiatives for the continued advancement of the European Research Area. It conceives and implements the necessary Community actions, in particular the Framework Programmes of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities. It also contributes to the implementation of the revised Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. Directorate C “European Research Area: Knowledge-based economy” (Director: Isi Saragossi) is responsible for developing/coordinating policies and measures to promote the realisation of ERA and promote investment in research at EU, national and regional level. This is achieved by under- taking monitoring analyses, impact assessments and foresight studies to support policy initiatives, by enhancing the effectiveness and coherence of national and EU research policies and their articulation with other policies (competition, intellectual property rights, education, innovation etc…) and by developing actions for the modernisation of universities and the improvement of research careers. The overall aim of these actions is to make Europe more attractive for investments in research and to increase the effectiveness of its research system by improving framework conditions and increasing the leverage effect of public spending on private R&D. “Key Figures 2007” was prepared in Unit C03 “Analysis and monitoring of national research policies and the Lisbon strategy” of DG Research (Head of Unit: Xabier Goenaga) by Vincent Duchêne (principal author), Matthieu Delescluse, Maud Skäringer, Antonio Puente Rodero and Dermot Lally. This Unit is responsible for the monitoring and assessment of national research policies in the context of the Lisbon Strategy. The Open Method of Coordination is applied to the 3 % objective for more investment in Research in EU-27 by supporting mutual learning, peer review and concerted policy actions between Member States and regions. It also contributes to the identification of important issues with a strong trans-national dimen- sion which could benefit from mutually reinforcing actions at national and EU levels. Unit C03 would like to acknowledge their gratitude to the many colleagues within Directorate C, DG Research and other Commission services for their comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this report. In addition, DG Estat, Unit F04 (‘Science, Technology, Innovation, Education and Culture Statistics’) is thanked for its contribution to the drafting of two sub-sections (sections II.2: ‘Human Resources in Science and Technology’ and II.4: ‘Technological Output’). URL: http://ec.europa.eu/invest-in-research/monitoring/statistical01_en.htm. Key Figures 2007 4 EUROPEAN COMMISSION STATISTICAL OFFICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (EUROSTAT) Commissioner: Joaquín Almunia Director-General: Hervé Carré Eurostat –part of the European Commission – is the Statistical Office of the European Communities and is situated in Luxembourg. Eurostat’s mis- sion is to provide the European Union with a high-quality statistical information service. The data and indicators produced for the European Union should enable comparisons between countries and regions in Europe and beyond. A solid base of reliable and objective statistical data is essential for decision-makers at EU level, in Member States, in local government and in all business sectors. The public and media also rely on relevant statistics to provide an accurate insight into important aspects of contemporary society. Eurostat Directorate F “Social Statistics and Information Society” (Director: Michel Glaude) includes unit F04, responsible for education, science and culture statistics. This unit also carries the responsibility for EU Statistics on Science, Technology and Innovation. The latter statistical domain covers R&D statistics, Community Innovation Statistics, statistics on Human Resources in Science and Technology, statistics on the Career Development of Doctorate Holders, Patent statistics and statistics on High-Tech industries and Knowledge-Based services. Much of the data used in the Key Figures publication of the Directorate General for Research is taken from EU Statistics on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI statistics). Beyond the data itself, Eurostat also contributed to the drafting of two sections of this year’s edition (sections II.2: ‘Human Resources in Science and Technology’ and II.4: ‘Technological Output’). All EU STI statistics are available free of charge from the Eurostat website under “Science and technology”. The data and tables disseminated are struc- tured in the domains listed above, and are updated regularly. Furthermore Eurostat also releases its own publications, such as the Panorama on Sci- ence, Technology and Innovation in Europe and periodical “Statistics in Focus” booklets on STI statistics. URL: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/ Key Figures 2007 5 Preface The EU’s top priority is to improve quality of life, boost economic growth and create jobs – all in a sustainable way, of course! This can only be achieved through far-reaching reforms that will transform Europe into a dynamic knowledge economy, providing excellent education, undertaking top research and defining a space for creativity and innovation. Knowledge and innovation are increasingly primary factors for European competitiveness. The transformation of Europe into a dynamic knowledge-based economy is the objective of what is known as the “Lisbon” agenda of structural reforms since 2000. In this framework, at the European Summit held in Barcelona in March 2002, European Heads of State and Government set themselves the goal of increasing Europe’s overall level of investment in research to 3 % of GDP by 2010, and of raising the share of research funded by business. Since then, re- search and innovation appears at the top of the agenda in almost all the National Reform Programmes prepared by the Member States as part of a renewal of the Growth and Jobs Strategy. The 2007 edition of Key Figures presents official data on the evolution of R&D activities up to 2005 and the trends are worrying. After a period of slow but continued growth at the end of the nineties, R&D intensity in the 27 EU countries stagnated in 2001-2002 and even decreased slightly after that. In 2005, only 1.84 % of GDP was invested in R&D in the EU, well below the 3 % Barcelona objective. Of course, there are differences within the EU and some Member States have managed to make considerable headway in boosting their R&D investment in recent years. Globalisation is a reality and knowledge is more evenly distributed than ever before. In 1993 the EU, Japan and the US dominated the world scene, ac- counting for some 83% of total R&D expenditure. By 2005, that figure had declined to 72%. The EU is still the largest producer of scientific knowledge but we lag behind the US in citation impact in all scientific disciplines and EU Universities are underrepresented in the rankings of the world’s top Universities. Europe may indeed lose its opportunity to become a leading global knowledge-based economy, but I am convinced that the situation can be reversed if we react quickly and strongly. In 2005 and 2006, almost all EU Member States made a commitment to increase their R&D intensities, a very welcome development. There is no doubt that the EU has many excellent research centres and many competitive firms. However, one of the main reasons for the EU’s mediocre R&D performance is the fragmentation across national borders of the European research system. This has prevented the creation of a European ‘Internal Market’ for research, where researchers, technology and knowledge can freely circulate. The creation of a true European Research Area would allow us to organise the European research system so that its full potential is harnessed. The result would be a Europe where it is much more attractive to be a researcher and invest in
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