Europe should throw money at ICT: report

30-11-2006

by Aoife Carr

EU member states will lose business to other countries unless they invest more in ICT, according to a new report from the European Commission.

The Commission's report on ICT industry competitiveness published earlier this week shows that Europe is lagging behind competing economic zones mainly because of insufficient use of information and communications technology.

ICT investment in Europe is now half the level of that in the US as a share of GDP, with the gap having widened in recent years.

The report identifies the main threats to European competitiveness as being the ongoing industrial investments in emerging economies such as India and China, the expansion of US dominance in computing and a lack of user acceptance and uptake of new technologies in Europe.

The report urges member states to look at their commitment to education and skills and to focus on the financing of innovation through public procurement to make Europe more competitive.

EICTA, the body representing the European information and communications technology and consumer electronics industries, welcomed the report, saying it provided a 'much-needed' wake-up call for the European Union.

"This report provides a much-needed wake-up call for the European Union, which risks losing out to increased ICT competition from other regions of the world," said Mark MacGann, director general of EICTA.

"The Commission must now turn its attention to encouraging EU Member States, and in particular the forthcoming German Presidency, to engage with industry and other stakeholders to examine the concrete actions that need to be taken as a result of this work," he added.

The report also points to a lack of political commitment to a strong system of intellectual property protection and urged member states to accelerate implementation of the London protocol and to progress the European Patent Litigation Agreement.

The additional cost burden of patenting within the European Union was also highlighted as an area where Europe continues to be at a considerable disadvantage in global competition.

The report also proposes that member states take action in key policy areas such as the financing of start-ups, reform of State Aid policy for industrial R&D and accelerated deployment of e-government services.

Meanwhile, ICT research is set to get a EUR9 billion boost from the EU after the European Commission announced plans to plough more funding into the area earlier this month.

The extra funding is part of the EU's seventh research framework programme (FP7), due to run until 2013. The ICT research area accounts for some 18 percent of the budget, showing just how seriously the EU is taking the issue.