EIS

"Of course without any discussion we need such conferences, especially in new member states. Because innovation is so important for our regions."

"I am very impressed, I see the change from research to innovation. I think we are more or less on the way to learn to work together between the research and innovation."

"Basic research could be globally localised in the big centers. Development and innovation however are to be local."

"It is a perfect time for us to discuss how to spend money from the different levels in a wise way to solve more challenges, to perform more activities, to organize more innovative companies".

"We need connection mechanisms between research and innovation programmes that enable us to combine national and regional dynamics in order to move towards multi-national dynamics through the European Commission."

"The society demands for quality foods and this must be done by continuous improvement and innovation. It is crucial to find ways to support and encourage farmers to utilise modern technologies to their full extent."

"Nowadays fortunately the new member states like Poland, Hungary, etc. are making a fantastic contribution to the R&D and innovation in Europe."

"We need to renew our target on STM on science, technology and math education. And we need to move fast. It is also about re-skilling and up-skilling of all people in lifelong learning."

"In the ICT sector, it is virtually impossible to scale up business due to the lack of digital single markets and to compete with American and other global players. We need also to address European patent policy, standards, venture financing and education to improve the innovation landscape. Innovation policy needs to assume a systemic approach in which all parts of the innovation policy are in a coordinated manner."

"We need to agree on the challenges and to define our common objectives. ‘Fragmentation’ - which I would rather call ‘diversity’ - is actually Europe’s great strength, but to make the most of it, we need to make sure that each player’s contribution is clearly defined in order to avoid the unwitting duplication of efforts."

"In the panel which I had the honor to chair, we had the right mix of people from the government and the industry. Strengthening the collaboration between the private sectors and governments is the essence to foster European competitiveness."

"It is impossible to introduce innovations without excellence in education. Creativity of individuals is the key to innovation and we need to support creative daring people bringing new surprising views."