The Informal Competitiveness Council/Research Meeting was convened in Athens, today (13 May 2014) chaired by Constantinos Arvanitopoulos, Minister of Education and Religious Affairs. The meeting was also attended by Stefania Giannini, Italian Minister for Education and Research, Màire Geoghegan–Quinn, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Maria Damanaki, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Christos Vasilakos, Secretary General for Research and Technology and Robert-Jan Smits, Director General for Research and Innovation.

The meeting focused on three items: the Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation for Research and Innovation, the European Innovation Partnerships(EIPs) and the Commission Communication adopted on 8^th May 2014 on “Innovation in the Blue Economy: Realising the potential of our seas and oceans”.

The Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation for Research and Innovation was discussed during  morning session and the ministers stressed that research and innovation offer significant opportunities for Mediterranean countries to develop and exploit their human, natural and technological assets to tackle regional and global challenges for the benefit of people in the region.

The session started with the introductory remarks of Minister Arvanitopoulos who confirmed the political commitment of the Greek Presidency to the PRIMA initiative, while Minister Giannini also confirmed the political commitment of Italy. In the same context, Mr Vasilakos underlined the importance of the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in R&T&I as one of the most important policy tools for peaceful co-existence and growth. The importance of the action, the importance of thematic priorities for food and water, as well as the importance for the Southern Mediterranean countries were presented respectively by: the coordinator of the initiative, rector of Siena University Angelo Riccaboni, the president of the Greek Centre for Oceanographic Research Vassilios Lykousis and the advisor to the research minister of Egypt El-Zoheiry. A wide support for the initiative was expressed during the roundtable discussion that followed and the participants agreed that it is time to proceed with the implementation of this initiative on the basis of Article 185, TFEU.  

The outcome of this discussion will be the basis for debate at the Competitiveness Council on 26^th May.

The afternoon session started with a presentation by Commissioner Maria Damanaki of the Commission Communication on “Innovation in the Blue Economy: Realising the potential of our seas and oceans for jobs and growth”. The Commissioner presented the action plan proposed which, among others, will promote in the near future (by 2020) free exchange and access to oceanographic data.

Subsequently, the afternoon session focused on the European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs). Since 2011, five EIPs have been launched in order to accelerate research, development and innovation to tackle major social challenges, pool expertise and resources and boost the competitiveness of EU industry. The session started with a presentation by Esko AHO, ex-Prime Minister of Finland and Chair of the independent Expert Group, tasked by the Commission to perform the evaluation of the current EIPs. An exchange of views regarding current EIPs followed.