Networking based economic development in the European Union: innovation potential and strategic decisions

Abstract

The new ideas of innovation and networking oriented economic development in the European Union are described. Prospects of economic development are getting more heavily dependent on the ability to initiate, disseminate and implement innovations in all spheres of life. This factor is of particular importance for the development and enlargement of the European Union, because activation of innovations is considered to be a significant problem associated with social and economic development and the advance of science and technology in the European Union. Further activation of innovations is a major precondition for ensuring the competitiveness of the European economy under the conditions of globalization. To activate the innovations in the European Union, the potential of innovations should be purposefully developed and effectively used. The problems of purposeful development and effective use of the innovation potential are considered now to be particularly important both from theoretical and practical perspectives. Vast possibilities of activating innovations are created by favourable conditions existing in the European Union for producing and effective use of various synergetic effects required for creating and developing international networks: these international networks may become the dominant formations in modern international economy. Spreading of international networks implies the inevitability of transformation of international economy into an economic system of international networks. The major goal of the paper is to demonstrate new approaches to innovation activation and purposeful development of the innovation potential in the European Union, taking into account the trends of globalization observed and the challenges of the knowledge – based society being created.