As a rule, the most EU policies’ drafts go through so-called “calls of ideas” from the member states and all interested parties. Therefore the European Commission launched a Call for Ideas (at a Science/Business Annual Conference in Brussels on 16 February 2016) on the setting up of a European Innovation Council to support Europe's most promising innovators.

The Call for Ideas to collect states’ opinion

The Call for Ideas seeks proposals from all interested parties, including innovators who do not usually participate in EU support schemes, on how a European Innovation Council could be designed to improve Europe's capacity to generate and scale up breakthrough innovations.

Positive steps have been taken in recent years to integrate innovation into EU programmes and policies, in particular Horizon 2020.

However, the array of support mechanisms can be difficult to navigate, lack the agility and responsiveness that disruptive innovation requires, and may not follow through sufficiently for innovations to reach global markets.

The call for ideas will remain open until 29 April 2016; the results of the “Call for Ideas” will be published by June 2016 and feed into future initiatives/drafts from the Commission’s side.

Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas underlined that although Europe has had excellent science and was home to many world-class innovation hotspots, but it definitely lacked progressive and market-creating innovation.

He argued that the EU needed to turn best ideas into innovative products and services that provide growth and jobs.  

While the number of start-ups created in Europe is on a par with competitors such as the United States, Europe lags behind in disruptive innovation and in scaling up start-ups into world-beating businesses. A European Innovation Council could contribute to solving this problem.

See - http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=newsalert&year=2016&na=na-160216.

The idea of creating a European Innovation Council shall be first tested; it could replicate for entrepreneurs what the European Research Council is doing for Europe’s best researchers. Therefore the “call for ideas”, the Commissioner stressed could exemplify what and how the work of European innovation community could be improved. 

Note: The Spokesperson's Service (SPP) is the official voice of the European Commission to provide information about the Commission’s political priorities and decisions. The SPP is an integral part of DG Communication, placed under the authority of the President. The European Commission Chief Spokesperson is the Head of the SPP and is assisted by two Deputy Chief Spokespersons, two Coordinating Spokespersons, portfolio Spokespersons and Press Officers.

Useful links for the EU science, innovation & research:

= http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/communication/about/contact_us/ec_spokespersons/index_en.htm;  

= http://ec.europa.eu/research;

= http://ec.europa.eu/horizon2020;

= http://ec.europa.eu/innovation-union;

= https://www.facebook.com/innovation.union;

= https://twitter.com/EU_H2020 (Horizon 2020) and