Investment in innovation for European recovery: a public policy priority

The 2008 crisis had severe consequences in Europe, especially for investment, including investments \ud in R&D and innovation. We argue that there are large scientific and technological opportunities that \ud could pave the\ud way to a new stage of social and economic development, but they need appropriate \ud public policies to be seized. A European recovery can come from developing and exploiting these \ud opportunities, but to do so requires a large governmental programme of \ud investm\ud ent \ud in R&D and \ud innovation that attracts businesses to invest further. The European Union could play a crucial role in \ud this process by pursuing the ambitious goals outlined by the European Council in the Lisbon (2000) \ud and Barcelona (2002) summits, which unf\ud ortunately were abandoned as a consequence of the \ud economic crisis and the austerity measures. Powerful instruments, such as the Juncker investment \ud plan, and the proposed 2021\ud -\ud 2027 Framework Programme Horizon Europe, can provide the right \ud kind of stimulus. \ud A re\ud -\ud organization of the governance of the European innovation and competence \ud building through a proper Council at the EU level is essential