Press release
Industry Committee gives green light for European Institute of Innovation and Technology
Research and innovation - 19-02-2008 - 09:41
Committees
Committees
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) will be able to start work this summer, as the Council's common position on establishing it was officially approved by the Industry Committee on Monday evening. Parliament will take its final vote on the text, already agreed in informal negotiations beforehand, at its plenary session in March.
The Industry Committee voted by large majority against an amendment to reject the Council Common Position. The common position was reached after negotiations with the Parliaments' rapporteur Reino Paasilinna (PES, FI), who was satisfied with the compromise, which took on board most of the points raised by Parliament in first reading.
"The agreement with Council represents a success for Parliament", said Mr Paasilinna, adding that "the compromise stresses the role of innovation. Innovation is where we really have to catch up: too often, our brilliant students and researchers do not reap the rewards of their work simply because there is no one to help them turn research results into commercial products."
"Knowledge and Innovation Communities" of universities, research organisations and businesses
The EIT will have a two-tier structure, in which a Governing Board selects higher education institutions, research organisations, companies and other stakeholders to form autonomous partnerships called "Knowledge and Innovation Communities" (KICs). Every KIC should consist of at least three partner organisations, situated in at least two different Member States and including at least one higher education institution and one private company. Universities which take part in a KIC are encouraged to add an EIT label to the degrees and diplomas they awarded.
First KICs on climate change, renewable energy and next-generation ICTs
Within eighteen months after the EIT is established, a first set of two or three KICs will be selected "in areas that help the European Union to face current and future challenges", such as climate change, renewable energy and the next generation of information and communication technologies.
Further KICs will then be selected after the adoption of the first "Strategic Innovation Agenda" (SIA), which is the "policy document outlining the priority fields of the EIT for future initiatives". The EIT must draw up an SIA by mid-2011 at the latest and every seven years thereafter. Parliament and the Council shall then adopt this agenda, acting on a proposal from the Commission.
Community to contribute €308.7 million
The Commission estimates that the institute will need an overall budget of €2.4 billion for the first six years, to be funded from a combination of private and public sources. On 18 December 2007 the EP and the Council agreed to revise the Multi-Annual Financial Framework 2007-2013 in order to ensure funding for Galileo and the EIT and to provide €308.7 million from the Community budget for the EIT.
Next steps
The Commission set up a four-strong identification committee early in February which is to nominate the 18 experts for the EIT's first Governing Board within about four months.
The European Council will then take a decision on where the EIT's governing body will be located. During the first-reading debate in Parliament, some MEPs proposed the Polish city of Wroclaw, the Hungarian capital Budapest or the city of Munich in Germany as possible seats for the EIT's governing board.
The second-reading recommendation was adopted unanimously. -- Procedure: Co-decision -- Plenary vote: March 2008
18/02/2008
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
In the chair : Angelika Niebler (EPP-ED, DE)
In the chair : Angelika Niebler (EPP-ED, DE)
REF.: 20080218IPR21531