Designed to boost the EU's competitiveness, a new 'European innovation act' will be presented by the European Commission in 2010, Vice-President Giinter Verheugen announced, on 24 September. During their Competitiveness Council meeting, on 24 September, the member states discussed future priorities for innovation in light of the shift towards a knowledge-based low carbon economy. The outcome of the debate will feed into conclusions, to be adopted in December, which in turn will guide the drafting of the post-2010 Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs. According to Verheugen, when it comes to the Union's innovation policy, the EU's performance is weak: "In many cases the levels of ambition within the member states is low. Policies are lagging behind and the right conditions for more innovation are not provided for. We cannot be satisfied."
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