5. Believes that better coordination of RD in the field of tourism will result in benefits for the sustainability of the tourism sector; urges the Commission, therefore, to create a Virtual Tourism Monitoring Centre that links up not just research institutions, but also enterprises and public authorities, with the aim of driving forward market research through use of competitive intelligence systems, providing enterprises and public bodies with forward-looking information on the development of supply and demand, and creating the conditions for improved strategic positioning of enterprises and the public sector;

26. Calls on the Commission to take steps to accelerate smart grid deployment and to focus on the following aspects: stimulating investment and financial incentives in this area, developing technical standards, ensuring data protection for consumers, establishing a regulatory framework to provide incentives for smart grid deployment, guaranteeing an open and competitive retail market in the interest of consumers and providing continued support for innovation in technology and systems;

8. Points out that in some Member States consumers have hitherto been unable to choose electricity suppliers freely and pay a competitive and fair price for electricity; points out that comprehensive advice and training should be provided to consumers to ensure their active participation, and that consumer information campaigns will be needed with a view to benefiting from the dissemination of smart energy systems; calls on the Commission and the Member States to stimulate and enable the participation of consumers in the realisation of smart energy systems, in particular by devising accessible, efficient and transparent funding schemes ...[+++], and to promote smart meters which provide consumers with a clear view of their energy consumption; emphasises that gas and electricity prices in Europe need to be reasonable, transparent and easily comparable; stresses the need to promote transparent and accurate billing based on actual consumption, a standard format for invoices and the dissemination of clear, effective and comprehensive price comparison tools, as well as easy and fast supplier switching;

Such action will need to have a strong focus on policies to accelerate innovation and early deployment of new technologies and infrastructure, creating a competitive edge for European companies in key sectors of the future (including energy efficiency, green cars, smart grids, carbon capture and storage (CCS), renewable energy).

The main reasons are legal barriers, the extremely competitive situation of the automotive sector with narrow margins and low return on investment, the high cost of intelligent systems and the consequent lack of customer demand, the lack of information, throughout society, about the potential benefits of these systems and a clear business case.

research, development and innovation: the production of new intelligent materials and highly specialised products, the development of new and more efficient processing methods and the marketing of creative products at competitive prices.