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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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talent. We need to create an environment that
facilitates the creation of new ideas and busi-
nesses, to help these businesses to thrive on the
global stage and create high-quality employ-
ment. This is the only way to facilitate econom-
ic growth and social cohesion for all EU coun-
tries in the digital era.
The improvement in scientific capacities in
our region, and in Spain in particular, over re-
cent decades has been impressive, and the qual-
ity of our technological centres, universities and
research groups is beyond dispute. However, if
we are to become global leaders, we need to
bring our investment in R&D up to the levels of
those countries that are setting the pace of the
technological revolution.
There are grounds for optimism. The
EU
Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard 2016
,
published in December 2016, shows that EU
companies invested 188.3 billion euros in re-
search and development during the financial
year 2015/16. This represents an annual in-
crease of 7.5 per cent, a faster rate than the
global average and one which suggests EU
companies are moving in the right direction.
European public investment in R&D has also re-
covered in the majority of countries since the
crisis (during which it fell sharply), and we can
only hope that Spain will also benefit from this
trend. However, we also need to improve our
capacity to transfer innovation to ambitious en-
trepreneurial and business projects, and devel-
oping a European risk capital ecosystem with
growing levels of investment and transaction
volumes could play a vital role in this regard.
Finally, in addition to public investment in
R&D, there is nothing more effective than lead-
ing by example. Public bodies have a vital role to
play in this regard. Major public sector technol-
ogy projects can provide the impetus that helps
to expand our technological horizons, driving
innovation and ambition throughout society.
European governments and EU institutions
can provide the leadership we need in this pe-
riod of change. They can offer a vision of the
future that mobilises change and generates
hope, directing resources and commitment
along the right channels, positioning us to con-
front a future that is already here. We have to
mobilise the energies and efforts of a wide
range of stakeholders, both public and private,
so that we can use innovation to become more
competitive in order to safeguard the opportu-
nities of future generations of Europeans.