UPN, Alm.del - 2017-18 - Bilag 261: Hyrdebrev om den uformelle middagsdrøftelse blandt EUs stats- og regeringschefer den 16. maj 2018

Det Udenrigspolitiske Nævn 2017-18
UPN Alm.del Bilag 261
Offentligt

European Council

Leaders’ Agenda

May 2018

Innovation and digital

The European Union has a competitive edge due to its high-quality basic and applied research.

With only 7% of the world’s population, Europe accounts for 20% of global R&D investment and

around one third of all high-quality scientific publications. However, it is lagging behind other

major economies in terms of innovation. There are three times fewer quality patent applications

in the EU than in Japan; there is five times less venture capital than in the United States, and the

number of fast-growing start-ups (“unicorns”) is also five times lower; the EU’s share of added value

in high-tech manufacturing is half the South Korean average.

Over the coming years, technology-driven innovation will affect our lives at an ever-growing speed,

with a new wave of innovation based on the converging of digital and physical technologies (e.g.

digital manufacturing, genomics, the internet of things, Artificial Intelligence) and heavily relying

on science, engineering, data and high capacity digital networks. The development of Artificial

Intelligence in particular raises not only hopes (e.g. better healthcare, safer transport, more

sustainable farming), but also ethical questions.

Deepening Europe’s innovation capability, in particular as regards nurturing breakthrough and

disruptive innovation, is fundamental to ensure economic success and preserve our societal values.

While respecting the principle of subsidiarity, EU action is essential to help achieve the relevant

critical mass for both the development and scaling-up of successful technologies.

The Commission has proposed to set up a European Innovation Council in the next Multiannual

Financial Framework in order to streamline, rationalise and simplify existing schemes to select and

fund breakthrough and disruptive technologies. Its ongoing pilot project provides experience and

guidance. Likewise, the Commission has proposed a European approach on Artificial Intelligence

and robotics in order to boost the European Union’s competitiveness and ensure trust based on

European values.

The EU can also support our universities and research institutions to become more entrepreneurial

in generating ideas that translate into business; offer curricula that better match emerging business

models; work more closely with enterprises; and help faster diffusion, reuse of, and access to,

knowledge.

LEADERS’ AGENDA

May 2018

UPN, Alm.del - 2017-18 - Bilag 261: Hyrdebrev om den uformelle middagsdrøftelse blandt EUs stats- og regeringschefer den 16. maj 2018

Low investment in innovation has also been a persistent weakness in Europe. It is imperative to

make adequate public funding available, but the most striking gap is in private investment. Public

resources must be used to attract and leverage a critical mass of private investments, but we also

need to create ecosystems that allow innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive.

Data is an increasingly critical asset not only for innovation, business and growth, but above all for

our daily lives. Building a European data economy is not only in our interest but is a necessity for

our citizens. Ultimately, this means creating a single European space where non-personal data can

flow freely. The Commission proposals on the gathering, sharing and efficient use of various kinds

of data serve as a good basis.

But establishing an EU data economy is only possible if citizens’ personal data are adequately

protected. The Cambridge Analytica affair is a regrettable illustration of how personal data can be

misused. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which will become applicable across the

Union on 25 May 2018, constitutes a major step forward in protecting privacy and personal data

and ensuring data sovereignty. Its ultimate success will depend on effective implementation. At the

same time, an effective cybersecurity policy is a precondition for ensuring citizens’ trust.

For our overall strategy towards a digital Europe to be effective, a major effort is needed on the

main outstanding files before the end of this institutional cycle, as set out in the Presidency’s report.

Some of them are close to being finalised, such as the Audio-visual Media Services Directive and the

Directive establishing the European Electronic Communications Code. Others, such as the Digital

Content Directive, the Regulation on Cybersecurity Certification and the Regulation on European

High Performance Computing are on the right track provided that the momentum is kept. The

level. And finally, there are new Commission proposals that need to be moved forward quickly,

such as the Directive on Public Sector Information and the Regulation on promoting fairness and

transparency for business users of online intermediation services.

Against this background, Leaders are invited to have an open debate on these issues,

with a particular focus on:

•

What should be done at the EU level to support and boost breakthrough and

disruptive innovation?

How can the EU become a major player in the field of big data?

There will be no written output from this debate. The European Council will return to the issue at

its meeting in June 2018.

LEADERS’ AGENDA

May 2018