Brussels, 15 June 2005

The Structural Funds play a substantial role in promoting research and innovation in the European Union. Between 2000 and 2006, roughly EUR 13 billion will be spent on research infrastructure and networks, innovative business start-ups and the modernisation of small and medium-sized enterprises, financed through the Structural Funds. This amount is expected to increase from 2007, as the EU’s regional policy focuses increasingly on the Union’s goals of greater competitiveness and dynamism.

‘Regional policy is already making a substantial contribution to achieving the aims of the Lisbon strategy, especially in the area of research and innovation. The EU’s structural funds finance investments in research infrastructure and networks in regions where the potential for world-class research is there to be developed, while strengthening innovative capacity and technology transfer throughout the Union’, stated Commissioner for Regional Policy, Danuta Hübner.

Research and high-tech activities are highly concentrated in the core regions of the EU. Approximately half of public and private research expenditure goes to just 30 regions out of a total of 254. Disparities between regions in business research expenditure are even wider. In the poorest EU regions, business expenditure amounted to less than 0.3% of GDP – only just over a fifth of the average EU level. While average business expenditure on research in Germany is 1.7% of GDP, it stands at 2.2% in Finland and 2.7% in Sweden, but less than 0.2% in all regions of Portugal and Greece, except Lisboa, Attika and Pelopponisos.

Between 2000 and 2006, EUR 13 billion – around 6% of the EU Structural Funds – is being invested in research and innovation. Part of this funds goes to research infrastructure in regions where the potential to undertake world-class research is there to be developed, and part goes towards strengthening innovative capacity so as to spread the benefits of research more widely. In addition to the EUR 13 billion spent directly on research infrastructure and innovation, investments in physical and ICT infrastructure and human capital help to promote technology transfer to all regions.

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The Member States that allocate the highest proportion of structural funding to research and innovation are Spain, Germany and Italy. The amount is equally split between three main categories: (1) research infrastructure (innovation centres, technology parks, etc.); (2) innovative projects (information technologies, technology transfer, start-ups and applied research projects); (3) environment for innovation (funding for small and medium-sized enterprises).

The shift to a more knowledge-based and innovative economy is expected to feature prominently in the next generation of Structural Funds programmes. The Commission proposes to make ‘Improving knowledge and innovation for growth’ a major theme in the forthcoming Community Strategic Guidelines, which will provide orientations for EU-funded programmes in the period 2007-2013. Increasing and improving investment in research and technical development and facilitating innovation will fall under this heading, along with other relevant guidelines on promoting the information society for all and improving access to finance.

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Item source: Date: 15/06/2005 Previous Item Back to Titles