Seizing the Opportunities of a New Economy: Challenges for the European Union

The economic performance of the EU has taken on a new dimension with the notion of a “new economy”. While ICT has become a major factor in explaining the prolonged, non-inflationary boom in the United States, the EU is lagging behind in most aspects of ICT. Arguing that the impact of ICT is inter-related with a range of factors, including innovation, human capital and organisational change, this paper concludes that systemic weaknesses limit the ability of the EU to adjust and capitalise on new economic and technological opportunities. The direction of remedial action is considered in the areas of: market segmentation; science-industry linkages; ICT infrastructure and services; labour markets and skills; and financial markets, venture capital and entrepreneurship. Capitalising on the agenda set by the Lisbon summit 2000 will greatly hinge on the extent to which there will be improved conditions both for coordination between policy areas and complementarity between measures at the national and Community levels.