Revisiting innovation: Revolutionising European innovation policy by means of an innovation ecosystem

Abstract

Both in economic and political terms, the EU is on life support. Its former attractiveness as an economic powerhouse, a political “soft power," and a much appreciated social model seems to be waning in the face of Eurozone troubles, the problems of migration and asylum seekers, or the political and military challenges at its borders. Far away from traditional integrationist thinking, which claims the EU has always been on an irreversible trend toward an ever closer union, today’s analysts hold that the Union is losing its internal coherence, its historical significance, and economic usefulness.