The European Union must close the innovation gap with the United States by putting greater emphasis on what markets want, the EU Commission said today.
EU competitiveness ministers kick off a two-day meeting in the Finnish town of Jyvaskyla today where the host country will try to persuade fellow member states to ditch old ways of trying to spur innovation.
The presidency's heavy emphasis on the role of market forces and competition, particularly in traditional public services, may raise hackles among some member states, but it is likely to find some backing from the EU's executive Commission.
"Innovation is where Europe appears to lag most behind its main competitors," the commission said in a statement.
"The EU invests about a third less in research than the United States, and the EU/US innovation gap has not narrowed in recent years.
Emerging countries such as China and India are fast becoming world-class centres of research and innovation," the EU executive said.
A discussion document for this week's meeting says European innovation policy should place sufficient emphasis on market demand and the needs of users, rather than putting all the focus on supply-side factors such as how much cash goes to research.