The European Commission suggested to boost the market potential of innovative products and services by removing the obstacles which curb innovation. The first phase envisages the involvement of six markets: on-line health assistance (Ict at the service of doctors and patients to speed up procedures and contain expenses), protection textiles (high-tech and “intelligent” fabric), eco-building, recycling, bioproducts and renewable energy. These markets are a strong social and economic value and for the EU they represent an annual turnover of 120 billion Euro and 1.9 million jobs. Thanks to the Commission’s initiative, called “Lead markets initiative for Europe” (Lmi), the total turnover could exceed 300 billion Euro with 3 million employed in this sector by the year 2020. The Commission’s initiative is aimed at promoting the emergence of these markets by improving legislation, encouraging public markets and developing new regulations. In this way, European enterprises will benefit from better and equitable opportunities to access the newly developing world markets with the same competitive potential as the leading manufacturers. On the short run, the initiative would benefit European consumers in those sectors that are indispensable to their wellbeing. According to Günter Verheugen, vice-President of the European Commission and responsible for Industry and Business policies, “Europe should adopt a more targeted approach in the promotion of innovative markets by creating the grounds for innovative services and products marketing.
