THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS - underlines that industrial policy needs to be one of the pillars of the European venture, treated as a genuine political priority on the same political footing as cohesion, infrastructure and agriculture; - believes that the European Commission must harness all the potential of the Lisbon Treaty in the area of industrial policy pursuant to Article 173 TFEU; - supports the European Parliament's proposal to set up a steering group in order to bring together European, national, and regional and local powers and the resources currently scattered across all levels and sectors; - draws attention to the fact that many local and regional authorities have already placed economic, social and environmental innovation at the centre of their development strategies: they have the networks and the experience to develop the innovation ecosystems which SMEs need to thrive; - proposes that project bonds be issued to finance SMEs, channelling regional investment funds towards SMEs and intermediate-sized enterprises and bolstering a European venture capital industry based on the regions; - suggests that the regional blueprints for innovation should develop into regional blueprints for innovation and industrial development.