EU trailing world in R&D funding

Investment in research and development (R&D) by European companies has grown slightly this year, but its gap in comparison to the rest of the world has widened, according to new research.

European Commission data shows that the R&D investment growth rate for EU companies has rebounded from a decline last year to post a 0.7% gain.

The Scorecard also shows that the EU's top companies are as ready to invest in R&D as their global competitors. Nearly half of Europe's top 700 firms upped their R&D investment this year by more than 5%.

But, still, the data shows the gap between the EU's R&D spending rate and that of the rest of the world is getting larger.

Non-EU countries posted an annual growth rate in the year to 1 August of approximately 7%.

"The 2005 edition of the Scorecard gives room for some optimism but also shows the enormous task still ahead of us if we want the EU to become a true knowledge economy," said Janez Potocnik, European commissioner for science and research.

"I call on governments not to lose the momentum now. We have some excellent performing EU companies, but we need greater coherence and ambition in establishing the right conditions for R&D and innovation across member states so that we have many more of them.

"We need governments and companies to invest more in research and invest better."

The gap can be partially explained, however, by differences in industrial activities. According to the research, many EU companies trade in sectors that require only a medium level of R&D funding.

The EU has fewer scoreboard companies in sectors such as biotechnology, health and information technology, which require higher levels of investment.