Investments into Research and Development are the Best Investment into the Future

created on 27 May 2010

Minister at the Council Competitiveness in Brussels – Austria continues to pursue ambitious R&D target – Support for "Simplification"

Vienna/Brussels (OTS) - "Investments into research and development are the best investments into the future. Research delivers progress, creates jobs and ensures prosperity“, said Dr. Beatrix Karl, Austrian Minister of Science and Research. The Minister is taking part in the Council Competitiveness in Brussels today, where the national R&D targets for implementing the Europe 2020 Strategy are being discussed, amongst other issues. "Austria continues to pursue an ambitious R&D target and can thus consolidate its leading role in Europe“, the Minister underlined.

Beatrix Karl emphasized Austria’s dynamic catching-up process in research and development. Over the past ten years, investments in research and development have more than doubled: from 1.9 percent of GDP in 1999 to 2.76 percent of GDP in 2010. On this basis, Austria is setting itself the target of achieving a national R&D-to-GDP ratio of 3.76 percent by 2020.

"The economic development has recently slowed down the dynamics. Against the background of a different starting position, the target of reaching 3.76 percent by 2020 is highly ambitious, and we are well above the overall EU target of three percent of GDP for research and development by 2020,“ the Minister stressed. From today’s perspective, Austria will be able to reach the 3 percent target in the year 2013.

Increasing the R&D-to-GDP ratio by one percentage point by 2020 is possible from today’s perspective, „for this we need a joint effort and a mix of public and private funds“. Austria is currently in third position within the EU with an R&D-to-GDP ratio of 2.76 percent (behind Sweden and Finland). With the new target, Austria will also keep its position within the EU top 3.

In the discussion, the Minister proposed subjecting the national targets to a mid-term review in 2015, and thus also readjusting the national objectives. A large number of Member States agreed to this proposal, which is carried by a broad majority.

A further topic of the Council Competitiveness was the challenges of the administrative procedures in the EU Framework Programmes. Last year already, Austria, together with other Member States, sent a letter in this matter to the Commissioner then in charge, drawing attention to the issue. "I am therefore greatly pleased about the fact that EU Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn has taken a corresponding initiative", Beatrix Karl assured her support of the respective Communication of the Commission on “Simplification“.

The Minister also referred to an initiative by the community of researchers: "Trust Researchers". "We should take this appeal by the researchers very seriously and should make an effort to simplify the administrative procedures in the EU Framework Programmes".

For the original press release (in German) click here.

Further enquiries:

Federal Ministry for Science and Research Minoritenplatz 5, 1014 Vienna
Press: Ms. Elisabeth Grabenweger
Tel.: +43 1 531 20-9014
mailto:elisabeth.grabenweger@bmwf.gv.at
www.bmwf.gv.at
Digital press kit: http://www.ots.at/pressemappe/43/aom
*** OTS-ORIGINAL TEXT PRESS RELEASE; CONTENT UNDER EXCLUSIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SENDER - WWW.OTS.AT ***
OTS0206 2010-05-26/12:59
261259 May 10

Information