25TH REPORT: PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH THE
EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Letter from Margot Wallström Vice-President
of the European Commission to the Chairman
Thankyou for your opinion on the European Commission's
Proposal to establish a European Institute ofTechnology (EIT)
dated 4 July 2007
I enclose the Commission's response. I hope
you will find this a valuable contribution to your own deliberations.
I look forward to developing our policy dialogue
further in the future.
26 September 2007
COMMISSION RESPONSE
The Commission would like to thank the House
of Lords for its timely report on the proposal to establish the
European Institute of Technology (EIT), which provides valuable
information about the way in which the EIT should develop.
The conclusions of the House of Lords' report
focus on the following issues:
(a) the way in which the Commission has formulated
the EIT proposal;
(b) the budgetary provisions for the EIT;
(c) the composition of the EIT Governing Board;
(d) the priorities of the EIT; and
(e) the monitoring and effectiveness of the EIT.
The Commission wishes to shed some light on
these points:
(a) The way in whicb the Commission has formulated
tbe proposal
In point 11 of the report, it is stated that
"...and had the views of business expressed in it been similar
to those expressed in the UK, the Commission might have been persuaded
to put forward a different and more effective concept for the
EIT".
Since the inception of the EIT initiative, the
Commission has had regular contacts with leading industrialists
and European business organisations and has been particularly
attentive to their views. As a result, the business community,
as shown by their public statements, is favourable to the EIT
project.
In particular, EUROCHAMBRES has appreciated
"the successive rounds of information and consultation that
have been taking place on a regular basis for one year" and
it is pleased to see that the main concerns expressed throughout
the maturation process have been addressed".[10]
At their meeting of 29 May, the leaders of Europe's Chamber network
"endorsed the creation of the EIT, underscored the urgent
need for a more innovative Europe and urged both public and private
sectors to work quickly together to maximise the contribution
of the EIT to the goals of growth and employment."[11]
Business Europe has also publicly supported
"the approach outlined in the Commission's proposal of October
2006, which would see the EIT as a networking approach to innovation,
research and education with clear and unambiguous links to existing
community programmes and initiatives". It supports the Commission's
idea "that the primary focus of the EIT should be innovation"
and believes that "the proposed Knowledge and Innovation
Communities (KICs) are the structure by which this could be achieved".[12]
(b) The budgetary provisions for the EIT
As regards the overall amount of funding earmarked
to the EIT for the period 2007-13, the House of Lords recommends
that "the EU funding should be reduced to a level commensurate
with the gradual approach which is now envisaged for its implementation".
On the sources of such funding, the House of Lords recommends
that "the practice of funding such major project from a reserve
budgetary source should not be considered as acceptable".
The Competitiveness Council agreed on a general
approach for the European Institute of Technology on 25 June,
including a contribution directly from the Community budget of
an amount of €308.7 million for the period 2008-13. This
will cover the costs of the EIT's governing structure and the
European dimension of the project, notably the costs of coordination,
knowledge transfer and mobility that are necessary to sustain
the KICs.
The ITRE Committee of the European Parliament
adopted the final report on the EIT by a large majority. ITRE
has also proposed that the financial envelope for the implementationon
the EIT during a period of six years as from 1 January 2008 should
be set at EUR 308.7 million.
There is therefore broad agreement between Council
and European Parliament on the EU direct contribution for the
EIT for the period 2008-13. The suggested amount—EUR308.7
million—is deemed the minimum needed to make the EIT credible
and viable as well as able to attract other sources of funding.
In its proposal, the Commission suggested that
the EIT should be financed through the unallocated margins of
heading 1a. As pointed out in the Lords' report, this proposal
has not so far been endorsed by the budgetary authority. Discussions
are currently on-going between the two arms of the budgetary authority
to find a solution that can be acceptable for both Council and
the EP. The Commission is confident that this issue will be solved
soon to enable the adoption of the proposal before the end of
this year.
(c) The composition of the EIT Governing Board
The Commission fully supports the House of Lords'
recommendation of including in the Governing Board an appropriate
representation of members with business experience. Article 1
of the Statutes of the text of the general approach clearly states
that "the Governing Board shall consist of appointed members
providing a balance between those with business experience and
those with education/research experience".
(d) The priorities of the EIT
On the priorities of the EIT, the House of Lords
recommends that suggested topics for the EIT to work should not
be included in the final text of the EIT Regulation, as it could
undermine the autonomy of the Board in setting the priorities
of the EIT.
Through the adoption of the Strategic Innovation
Agenda, the Council and the European Parliament will provide long-term
broad strategic guidance to the EIT. However, the Governing Board
will define the strategy and specify the policy fields in which
to establish Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). For
the establishment of the first KICs, the text of the general approach
points to renewable energies and climate changes as, inter
alia, potential fields for intervention. While these fields
appear to be sensible areas for the EIT to focus in the first
instance, it should be made it clear that it will be the Governing
Board, with full autonomy, which will decide the policy areas
in which to establish the first KICs. The Commission will not
be involved in the selection of such priority fields.
(e) The monitoring and effectiveness of the
EIT
Finally, the House of Lords' report stresses
the importance of proper evaluation and monitoring mechanisms
on the initial operation of the EIT, in order to properly address
its long-term perspective.
The Commission shares the views of the House
of Lords and believes that these concerns are fully addressed
in the text of the general approach. An independent external evaluation
of the EIT will be carried out at the Commission's initiative
before end 2011. This evaluation will "cover all the activities
of the EIT and the KICs and will assess the impact, effectiveness,
sustainability, efficiency and relevance of the activities pursued
as well as their relationship with Community policies". The
evaluation will also take into account the views of the stakeholders,
at both European and national level. The result of the evaluation
will have to be taken into account in the drawing-up of the first
Strategic Innovation agenda, which include inter alia,
detailed arrangements for the operation of the EIT in the long-term.
Letter from the Chairman to Commissioner
Figel, European Commission
Thank you very much for your letter of 26 September
regarding the Proposal to establish the European Institute of
Technology.
We were very interested to read the Commission's
reaction to our Report on the Proposal and we are grateful to
you for the helpful comments you make in relation to the points
made in the Report.
You noted in your response that the Commission
has been particularly attentive to the views of leading industrialists
and European business organisations, and you go on to cite EUROCHAMBRES
and Business Europe as specific organisations that have expressed
support for the EIT.
We welcome this consultation, but would appreciate
it if you could let us have further information about the extent
to which business has expressed a will to provide the levels of
private-sector investment that will be required to make the EIT
a success. We would also be interested to know what level of contact
you may have had with SMEs regarding the EIT proposal and what
views they may have expressed about it.
We look forward with interest to your response.
16 October 2007
Letter from Margot Wallström, Vice
President of the European Commission to the Chairman
Thank you for your opinion on the European Commission's
Proposal to establish a European Institute of Tecbnology (EIT)
dated 16 October 2007.
I enclose the Commission's response. I hope
you will find this a valuable contribution to your own deliberations.
I look forward to developing our policy dialogue
further in the future.
19 December 2007
COMMISSION RESPONSE
The Commission would like to thank the House
of Lords for its letter dated 16 October 2007 and for taking such
a keen interest in the Commission's proposal to establish the
European Institute of Technology (EIT).
The Commission would like to reply to the following
queries raised by the House of Lords, namely:
(a) The extent to which business has expressed
commitment to provide adequate private-sector investment to the
EIT;
(b) The level of contact with SMEs on the EIT
proposal and their expressed views.
First, the Commission has consulted widely with
the business community regarding the EIT proposal. In particular
it has held four Stakeholders conferences during the period from
April 2006 until January 2007, where, among other groups, the
representative bodies of business such as EUROCHAMBERS and Business-Europe
have been extremely positive towards the creation of the EIT.
Furthermore, there have been numerous direct contacts with individual
companies which have expressed support for the proposal (Nestle,
Nokia, Intel, Unilever, Microsoft, Pfizer, Alcoa) to name a few.
While it is, of course, still to be seen that this interest will
result in the type of financial input from business needed to
make a success of the EIT, the level of interest shown to date
is very positive.
The EIT should be set up by Community legislation
in spring 2008. The Commission is confident that once the EIT
established, concrete financial.and other commitments will be
forthcoming from the private sector.
Second, with regard to the SME dimension, it
should be noted that the European Commission's consultations with
business organizations/associations included UEAPME (the European
Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises). In
a position paper (issued in September 2006) UEAPME expressed their
support for the EIT project given that it "can provide added
value for European craft, small and medium sized enterprises".
Following these extended consultations the Commission
put forward its proposal for a regulation establishing the EIT
in October 2006. The Competitiveness Council of 23 November 2007
reached a political agreement on the establishment of the EIT
following the European Parliament's Resolution in September 2007.
The proposed regulation places a strong emphasis
on the role SMEs should play in the EIT and on how their specific
needs can be addressed. For example, to ensure that SMEs have
access to and can involve themselves in EIT activities, it is
proposed that the selection of Knowledge and Innovation Communities
(KICs) should be based, among other things, on the partnership's
capacity to demonstrate "the involvement of and cooperation
with the private sector, and in particular SMEs and the financial
sector." Moreover, concerning Intellectual Property management,
specific provisions are foreseen so that contributions from "small
players" are managed appropriately.
In conclusion, the Commission is confident that,
once established, the EIT will attract significant interest and
investment from the private sector as well as providing attractive
opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to participate
in the Knowledge and Innovation Communities.
10 Eurochambers position paper on the European Institute
of Technology 12 October 2006. Back
11
Eurochambers press release on 29 May 2007 "Enterprises urge
positive, constructive, rapid approach to European Institute of
Technology". Back
12
Business Europe's view on the European Institute of Technology,
March 2007. Back
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