Europe hopes tech talk will lead to action

PRAGUE — With the European Commission’s relaunch of the Lisbon Agenda on Wednesday governments in Europe are focusing on how they can accelerate technology development, amid warnings that they have fallen behind.

At Microsoft’s Government Leaders Forum in Prague this week public sector leaders heard a stark wakeup call from European Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding.

“We are underachieving,” Reding told attendees Tuesday, saying that increased investment in IT research and development, the creation of more local content and services and development of greater IT skills is urgent. Five years into the 10-year Lisbon Agenda, under which Europe laid out its goal of becoming the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based society in the world, it remains far in the distance, she said.

Not only is U.S. technology development still advancing at a brisk pace, Asian economies such as Japan, China, and India are hot on its tail, Reding warned.

Although Reding asked for immediate action to advance Europe’s technology development, the forum focused on high-level ideas and debates. Leaders talking about social inclusion during a gala dinner at Prague Castle Tuesday night may not summon an image of urgency, but some forum participants say that this kind of discussion is a crucial part of the European culture and process.

“Europe has a great history of thought sharing and debate,” noted Gerri Elliott, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s worldwide public sector division.

But all this talk may be part of what has been holding it back, some attendees opined.

“Europe has a substantial problem when it comes to technology development,” said Will Hutton, chief executive of the Work Foundation, a research and management consultancy based in the U.K. It has second-rate technical universities, relatively low research and development spending, and a shrinking population, Hutton warned. Instead of creating new technologies, it imports ideas from the U.S. and builds on them, he said.

“We need to rethink our process, and build our own innovation and research capital to raise our game,” Hutton said. He, like Reding, called for action, suggesting that European Union (E.U.) member states be compelled to come up with action plans to help them meet the Lisbon Agenda’s technology goals.

“We must name and shame those that don’t achieve, and name and fame those who do,” Hutton said.

However, a quick technology strategy shift is not easy for Europe since legislative changes must be approved by both the E.U. leadership and individual member states, some speakers noted.

“The European model is less favorable than the U.S. model for prompting economic and technology growth,” said Vladimir Mlynar, minister of informatics for the Czech Republic.

The forecast for Europe wasn’t all dire, however. Some attendees pointed to Europe’s technology innovation in the area of mobile telecommunications, for example, and the generally high education levels across many E.U. member states. Others reflected on the progress Europe has made over the last five years, by expanding its member states and increasing productivity through IT by 40 percent on average.

“It’s obvious that change is under way and we might be on the verge of a new European economic renaissance,” said former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt.

Whether predicting rough or rosy times ahead for Europe’s tech development, forum leaders agreed that the Lisbon goals should be taken seriously.

“Achieving Lisbon is Europe’s next big project. It is imperative that we do it,” Hutton said.

Microsoft’s Government Leaders forum ends Wednesday.