The immense importance of this issue, and the great opportunities provided by investment in research, are also increasingly appreciated by European governments and firms. A large majority of Member States now have specific strategies in place for stimulating both the quantity and quality of R&D activity.
[Without aiming to be exhaustive, I should like to mention “The pact for Research” in France, the Science Budget 2004 in the Netherlands, The Strategy for science, technology and innovation 2006-2013 in Ireland and the “Ingenio 2010” in Spain].