The last few decades have been marked by important political changes, extraordinary scientific and technological improvements, positive growth of global sales, development of international companies and supranational institutions. However, the uncertainty and instability on all levels of business activity are increasingly threatening the world economic growth. European Union, as well as the whole world economy, is nowadays in a phase of deep structural changes at the crossroads between the former dominant mass production and the new production model based on scientific-technological, information and communication activities, infrastructure and services. There is a “new economic scene” emerging on the horizon, where uniqueness, innovativeness, creativity and productivity play the key roles. As the response to these kinds of global changes, the aim of the European Union was to become the most competitive and most dynamic economy of the world to the year 2010 according to the guidelines of the document known as “Lisbon strategy”. European Union is a community of countries different in their size, culture and economic strength; hence it was essential to strengthen the national programs in order to increase the total economic strength of the European Union – for the aim of the Lisbon strategy has not been accomplished yet. The current financial, and thereby general economic crisis, have just slowed down the progress of the European Union towards the Lisbon aims. European Union industrial policy has been directed towards the strengthening of the market economy effect by steering of all capital to the segment of „new industry“ against deindustrialization. The new concept of EU economy development, according to the challenges of the Lisbon strategy, should be based on the so called “informational and innovational society”, as well as the society based on knowledge, in which it could try to face the new challenges of its economic role on a global economic scene by using innovation policy, policy of encouragement of small and medium entrepreneurship development, and the policy of research and development stimulation. The aim of this paper is to analyze the state of the industry and the current industrial policy of the European Union in accordance with the guidelines set by the Lisbon strategy. In order to accomplish that, there is a need to explore those industrial branches which could be the generator of the future economic growth, as well as all possible institutional solutions (creation of triple helix model), and which will have a supporting role.
