Substantial increase in EUREKA projects
At the recent EUREKA official meeting, the first held under Spanish chairmanship, 37 new EUREKA projects were approved, an increase of 35 per cent on the last five EUREKA chairmanships. The approved projects focus mainly on information and communications technologies, environment technologies, agrifood and production technologies. Germany heads the table of participation statistics, with Spain taking second place. One of the approved proposals was an annual award for the company showing the fastest growth in terms of turnover, employment and international market access as a result of innovative technology introductions. The award will carry an important monetary reward and relevant technology recognition in the whole of Europe. Related to this award is a proposal to attract even more private funding to companies participating in EUREKA projects, mainly through collaboration with venture capital institutions.