The recent economic crisis has questioned the European Union’s progress, exposed its weaknesses and intensified its global challenges. As a response, in March 2010 the European Commission proposed a ten-year strategy to revive the European economy, the Europe 2020 Strategy which was adopted by the European Council on 17 June 2010. It seeks a ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’ for the Union where the economy is based on knowledge and innovation.
One of the strategy's seven flagship initiatives is to help the EU become an ‘Innovation Union’, for which the European Commission has just published its vision. This flagship initiative seeks to improve the main conditions and access to finance for research and innovation to ensure that Europe’s innovative ideas can be turned into products and services, creating growth and jobs. It looks to 're-focus R&D and innovation policy on the challenges facing our society, such as climate change, energy and resource efficiency, health and demographic change'.
Through the initiative, the Commission has pledged to take a series of measures so they can meet their targets. These measures include championing partnerships between education, business, research and innovation organisations. They will also include the completion of the European Research Area and the further bolstering of EU instruments that will support innovation. Member States are also expected to do their share of the work. They are envisaged to prioritise knowledge expenditure, focus their educational curricula towards innovation and creativity and to reform their national and regional R&D and innovation systems.
The European Commission addressed this document to the European Council who will discuss the proposals in several autumn meetings. It is a Communication and as such, has no legal significance; but it sets out the framework for further common actions that should allow the EU a 'smarter growth'; strengthening innovation and knowledge.
Clusters are seen as powerful engines of economic development and drivers of innovation in the European Union. The new Innovation Union should therefore assure that there are internationally competitive and world class clusters that will play a major role in bringing together the main economic and academic agents. Having proven to be a source of competiveness and attractiveness for investment, clusters possess qualities which are seen as important in the context of the Union's transition towards a resource efficient and competitive economy.
The EU has further promised, in its 2020 Strategy, to work on promoting clusters as part of an additional flagship initiative, called ‘industrial policy for the globalisation era’ which seeks to improve the business environment. This is especially significant seeing as over one-third of the European workforce is employed by companies in clusters.
As identified in the Commission's 2008 communication, ‘Towards world-class clusters in the European Union: Implementing the broad-based innovation strategy’ there are some challenges facing clusters and innovation. Firstly, there is the sharing of best practice and removing barriers which hamper cooperation at EU level. Secondly, the completion of the internal market and the development of a competitive European Research Area will be crucial in the coming years. Lastly, strengthening European innovation is seen to lie in making the best use of the potential clusters can offer to the Union as a whole.
Over recent years, the European Union has strived to include clusters in its main innovation policies as the EU has shifted from macro to micro economic issues and this has been underlined in the 'Innovation Union'.
