The Europe 2020 objective of three percent of GDP investment in R&D, (one percent from the private sector and two percent from the public sector) was announced in March 2010. Since then some governments have faced budget constraints while some private sector industries that depended on public sector funds has received less support. Resurrecting and emerging from economic crisis in Europe, there is an important place for R&D to invest in new technologies to advance economic growth and to boost employment. This paper analyzes the trends of the EU Members States’ countries’ investments in R&D in the years since the launch of the ERA.
To support the ERA there are various stakeholders from the public, academic and private sectors nationally and across the region. The public sectors are involved at various levels of government, from local and regional municipalities, to national governments, to European level governance led by the European Union. Comparing the ERA with the EHEA investigates how each country may uniquely contribute to a Europe of Knowledge.
