Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Mr President of the Republic of Italy,
Your Majesty the King of Spain,
Members of Government,
Presidents of the COTEC Foundations in Spain and Italy and
President of COTEC Portugal
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would first like to salute President Giorgio Napolitano and thank him for his invitation to participate in this session of another COTEC Europe Meeting and also for the excellent welcome we have received in the beautiful city of Naples. I would also like to express friendly greetings to His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Allow me to congratulate the COTEC Foundation Italy on the success of this meeting, without forgetting the contributions made by its Spanish and Portuguese counterparts. Firstly on the wide participation of member companies and secondly on the opportune choice of the role of innovation in the development of the so-called BRIC countries as one of the subjects for discussion. Learning more about development paths and strategies in these countries is certainly a useful basis for analysis and even a source of inspiration for overcoming the challenges facing us today.

In spite of our progress, Europe continues to experience difficulties in using knowledge and innovation in the so-called “renewed Lisbon strategy”.

Today, our three countries, with their centuries-old history and culture, are facing great common challenges, like efficient energy use, environmental targets, ageing populations and guaranteed social cohesion and sustainability.

In spite of steps taken to redefine our energy policies, there are still many problems in this area. For example, Portugal continues to be highly dependent on foreign energy and shows considerable intensity of energy and transports in its gross domestic product. Energy is an essential factor in the productivity and competitiveness of our economies, and so improving its use must be a priority.

In the renewable energy sector, the wind farm business has been growing in the world at a rate of 30% a year and it is expected to create one million new jobs by 2010. The European Union is world leader in renewable energies. European companies have a 60 per cent share of the world market in the wind energy sector.

But the problem that we have to face is not just the use of clean technologies that enable us to meet new environmental goals efficiently. It is also essential to commit to R&D activities to develop new clean technologies. This is a great challenge for the business sector and scientific system.

The new EU framework programme for research constitutes a unique opportunity for intensifying production of knowledge in areas such as new energy sources, nanotechnology and biotechnology, favouring projects that involve three or more countries and forging links between knowledge centres and the market.

I therefore challenge Portuguese, Spanish and Italian companies, as well as research centres in the three countries, to join consortia in research projects in these and other areas of knowledge, with the support of COTEC Europe.

Cooperation between our countries in creating new knowledge in cutting-edge scientific and technological areas is a priority that we must accept. There are already good examples, such as the recently created International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory. This research centre has been set up in northern Portugal, with an expected annual investment of 30 million euros. It is the result of an agreement between Portugal and Spain for a strategic initiative in the field of research into nanotechnologies.

Traditional sectors like textiles, clothing and footwear carry considerable weight in the Portuguese economy, as they do in Spain and Italy. In recent decades, faced with global competition, they have undergone profound restructuring involving new market strategies based on design, the creation of prestige brands, new, more technology-intensive products and new distribution networks.

It is important to strengthen the ties between the traditional production clusters in the three COTEC countries and create more networking, more exchanges of ideas and more sharing of knowledge.

Many Portuguese companies today look to innovation and internationalisation as the path to rapid growth right from the start. COTEC Portugal is a good example of the support given to these companies through its small and medium enterprise network. We must create the right conditions for regular sharing of experiences between innovative small and medium companies in COTEC Europe.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At our last meeting in Lisbon, we adopted a joint document aimed at demonstrating to the European Commission COTEC Europe’s availability to cooperate in furthering innovation policies in the southern European countries. With a justified feeling of urgency, we have good reasons for a common interest in demanding new measures for increasing the efficiency of our national innovation systems.

While it is important to preserve the memory of the centuries of history that unite us, it is no less important to prepare today for the coming of the future. This is the meaning of the priority given to investment in innovation. More and more, globalisation is going to require societies and economies not only to adapt constantly to opportunities but also to face new risks. I trust in the capacity and talent of our entrepreneurs. Working together, we will be able to face the challenges of the future. This Fourth COTEC Europe Meeting strengthens my conviction.

Thank you very much