Europe has been making the news for the wrong reasons recently. Today I want to rewrite the headlines. While clearly we have difficulties, we are taking the right decisions to ensure an economic road to recovery. Europe is most definitely open for business. As the European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, I am responsible for driving research and innovation policy at the European level. Recently, Europe has taken decisive action in these areas, so I am grateful to have this opportunity today to talk to you about them and about the many opportunities for greater collaboration between our scientists.
International cooperation features strongly on the European Union’s research and innovation agenda because it makes sense to bring the world’s best researchers together, where possible, in order to tackle our common challenges such as climate change, health, energy and food security or our ageing population. It also makes sense for researchers around the world to look for ways to collaborate with Europe. But there are other reasons to do this too.
Despite its current economic difficulties, the European Union remains an economic powerhouse. Its GDP is bigger than that of the United States and with just 7% of the world’s population, our trade with the rest of the world accounts for around 20% of global imports and exports. We are the world’s biggest exporter and the second-biggest importer. Read More
