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Research and innovation are essential to Europe's future.
Economically: because new ideas are the best way to stimulate productivity, boost competitiveness
and generate jobs.
And socially: because new technology tools - and new ways of using them - could untangle
our most intractable problems, from the environment to healthcare.
Here in the EU we're already supporting that investment. And that needs to continue.
Imagine if we had chips that were ever smaller, ever more powerful, ever less energy-intensive.
With processors as tiny as a molecule, based on quantum mechanisms or biological systems.
Imagine if we had smarter networks, so everyone could get fast connections to the future internet.
With Internet information that actually answers your questions, every time. And billions of
devices connected to the Internet of Things: not just your computer and your phone, but
your household appliances, your car, your fridge, your glasses.
Imagine if robots could do the tasks that we find too difficult, dangerous, or just
plain dull. From "nano-robots" repairing tissues in your body, to bomb disposal—to the household
chores.
Imagine if the private sector could use photonics—for manufacturing that's quick, customised, and
cheap. Or high-performance computing—to design and try out new ideas.
Imagine if we had modernised, online public administrations. Giving citizens top-quality,
efficient services -- wherever they are in the EU. And tools that reinforce solidarity,
democracy and human rights.
Imagine if elderly people could stay in their own home for longer, active and independent.
Imagine ICT implants giving hearing to the deaf. Artificial retinas giving sight to the
blind. Artificial limbs giving back sensation and control to those who've lost it. Remote
devices controlled by brainwaves: so you can make something happen, just by thinking it.
Imagine if we had systems to model the earth, sea and sky, to understand, predict and mitigate
climate change. Imagine smart, environmentally neutral cities in a smart, environmentally
neutral world.
Imagine if scientists and engineers could conduct virtual experiments, "in silico" not
"in vitro". Whether they're designing new drugs, or new aircraft engines. And if they
had the tools to openly share their data and results, so others could examine, compare
and learn. A world where every citizen can be a scientist: from the comfort of their own
desk.
Imagine a world where your favourite TV and favourite films were on-demand, interactive, three dimensional;
instantly available from a locker in the cloud, wherever you are. Programmes for entertainment
or education -- maybe even both at once.
That's what research and innovation can offer us. And we shall do it better if we act together,
to get European economies of scale.
I want the research we fund under Horizon 2020 to be yet more challenging -- with specific
funds set aside for open, disruptive innovation. To be more coherent -- with more links between
our policy areas. And more focused on boosting our competitiveness.
With lower administrative burdens. And with private sector experts and investors more
involved from an early stage: so more bright ideas make it through to market, boosting
our economy and helping as many people as possible.
These are just the ideas we already know about. None of them is science fiction -- they're
all within our reach. The fact is, we don't know what tomorrow's
innovations will be. Even 5 or 10 years ago, who could have predicted the world we take
for granted today?
But here's one thing I do know: if there is a ceiling to ICT innovation, we haven't hit
it yet. Not by a long way.
If we nurture those fresh ideas now, we will grow a forest of future innovation, new solutions
to support a strong society. And with the ideas, inventions and innovations
that ICT can provide, I know we can get there.