Address given by by the President of Italy Sergio Mattarella at the 10th COTEC Europa Symposium.

Mr President of the Republic of Portugal,
Your Majesty,

Commissioner of the European Union,

Ministers,

Presidents of COTEC Portugal, Spain and Italy,

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to welcome and warmly greet His Majesty Juan Carlos.

I am very happy to be taking part in the tenth COTEC Europa Symposium in the prestigious setting of the National Research Council, which I would like to thank for hosting an event which every year expresses the scientific and technological collaboration between Portugal, Spain and Italy.

It is an honour for me to preside over such an ambitious initiative, alongside King Felipe and President Cavaco Silva, an initiative conceived of by His Majesty Juan Carlos.

Over 20 years ago, he recognised the political and economic need to focus more on research, technology and innovation, and their fundamental role in economic and social progress.

From its establishment 12 years ago, COTEC Europa represented a new space in which to develop the rich, dynamic ties which have always united Madrid, Lisbon and Rome to foster development and growth in our businesses and our society.

Indeed, COTEC Europa has contributed to the creation of a real, shared space for research and technological innovation among our countries, which I am sure has played an increasingly driving role on the path towards the creation of a European Research Area, at the heart of the European Commission's "Horizon 2020" strategy.
Mediterranean countries can and must be a driving force in Europe, on many fronts. If today there is less Europe than is necessary in the Union, that is also due to the fact that Southern countries are not able to fully express the cultural dimension that stems from their own history and experience. This would, and will, enrich the whole continent. It would, and will, give it the global vision that the Mediterranean has always inspired.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The signs of recovery in our three countries allow us to hope that the longest economic crisis of the second half of the Twentieth Century is finally behind us.

Growth forecasts for Gross domestic product are at this point both a challenge and an opportunity, politically and socially, that call upon us to urgently tackle unemployment levels that are too high, especially among young people.

It is essential for institutions and companies to work together to transform these initial positive indicators into more stable, lasting trends.
For this reason, it is all the more necessary to inject renewed vigour into our ability to innovate and adapt to a constantly changing global market.
We must innovate in order to compete, to grow.

To allow European industry, our industry - which is increasingly considered the basis for building lasting recovery - to remain at the cutting edge both qualitatively and technologically.

To this end, new projects and strategic investments must be launched to increase productivity and establish a new social pact based on the need to increase productivity on the one hand, and increase work opportunities and reduce social inequality on the other.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Innovation is by no means the only determining factor for a country's growth and strengthened productive fabric, but it is a crucial element. It suffices to cast a cursory glance at the performance of countries defined as leaders in innovation by the European Commission to see how strong the correlation between innovation and growth is.

With this in mind, a system-wide effort is needed which draws upon all the potential our countries have to offer.

We need greater investment in research and development, greater incentives for innovative businesses. We need specific financial tools to fund new start-ups, young talent, effective public-private partnerships, more stable ties between academia and business, a focus on the labour market, higher quality education provision. These are the keys to launch a new phase of development.

At the same time, it is of vital importance to direct particular attention to Small and Medium Enterprises, which constitute the backbone of our economies and should be encouraged to grow. They face increasingly tough competition, so we must promote the necessary measures to allow these businesses to grow in terms of size, finances and managerial capabilities.

It will also be important to make use of tools available at European level, from "Horizon 2020" programmes to funding for innovation through the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the European plan for strategic investment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank the COTEC Foundation Italy and its sister organisations in Spain and Portugal. Through their work, they continue to make an essential contribution to awareness-raising on the fundamental importance of technological innovation in our countries. It is through such work that we will be able to achieve a new European industrial renaissance, necessary precondition for renewed sustainable development.

Allow me to urge the 'federative' dimension of these three Foundations to step up its efforts to make our three countries' voices heard even more authoritatively in Brussels, through a greater and more incisive involvement in European Union policy frameworks.

We are all thinking of the creation of a European Research Area, but we should also highlight the opportunities offered by the creation of a single digital market and the European climate and energy strategy, all areas in which technological innovation plays an absolutely key role.

It is my hearfelt belief that, in these sectors, a united Europe must meet increasingly ambitious goals and open up to horizons that would not have been imaginable just a few years ago.

In these times of uncertainty, science and technology are and will remain our closest allies to tackle the challenges of our times.

Mr President, Your Majesty, Commissioner, distinguished guests,

I would like to conclude with the hope that the COTEC Europa Symposium may increasingly contribute to heightened cooperation between research institutes and businesses involved in state-of-the-art technology in our countries.

I hope we can start to widen our horizons and look beyond the confines of Europe, so as to share the COTEC Foundations' positive experiences with other countries, especially those in the Mediterranean.

It is in our interests and in the interests of European security that scientific and technological standards can progressively rise in countries on the Southern shores of the Mediterranean too.

I would also be grateful if COTEC were able to pick up on the many ideas and experiments launched during the Milan EXPO, an event which brought the whole world's attention to the importance of food and energy sustainability. New technologies and scientific research will play a determining role in achieving this goal.
I hope that the issue can become an integral part of the Foundations' work, and that the first fruits of this work will already have emerged by the next Symposium.

We know that the development of research and innovation capabilities is a decisive factor if we are to enter a new phase of growth, overcome social hardships, improve and strengthen Europe's image. Europe needs Mediterranean countries to once again become active players; it needs to determinedly relaunch the integration process.