There is a potential to generate 3.7m jobs if research and development investment increase by as little as 1pc.
According to Patricia Reilly, a cabinet member in the office of Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, increasing research and development investment from current levels of below 2pc cent to 3pc of GDP throughout Europe could create 3.7 million jobs and increase annual GDP by up to €795 billion by 2025.
The message was delivered to the Board of GS1 in Europe.
The Commission’s ‘Innovation Union’ approach is to use public sector intervention to stimulate the private sector and to remove bottlenecks which currently stop ideas reaching the market, such as: lack of finance, fragmented research systems and markets, under-use of public procurement of innovative products and services and slow standard setting
Foster innovation and enable greater interoperability
Reilly said: “In early 2011, the Commission will make a legislative proposal to speed up and modernise standard-setting to foster innovation and enable greater interoperability between various technology-based systems. Organisations such as GS1, which promote the implementation and operation of global supply chain standards, are critical players needed in the successful roll-out of standards based systems.
“We very much welcome the work that GS1 is already doing and are really excited about the possibilities of a number of pilot projects they are working on, which look likely to bring about real innovation and efficiencies in the way we all conduct our business across the supply chain.”
“The European Commission clearly recognises the value that global standards will bring to the economy and society in general. GS1 standards enable accurate information and visibility of products in the supply chain, and as such, their deployment can play a critical role in increasing competitiveness levels in the EU. We look forward to working more closely with the European Commission in its efforts to forge stronger European Innovation Partnerships,” said Jim Bracken, chief executive, GS1 Ireland.
