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EUREKA Slovenian Chairmanship 07/08The priority tasks in the field of technology development during Slovenia's Presidency are as follows:

  • linking knowledge institutions and companies

  • strengthening the ERA (European Research Area) – especially in the field of industrial research (Eureka, Eurostars, JTI, etc.)

  • intersectoral mobility (the transfer of personnel between the public and private sectors)

  • introduction of the SRA (Strategic Research Agenda) of European Technology Platforms

Entrepreneurship is vital for increasing competitiveness in Slovenia as well as in the European Union.

 

Linking knowledge institutions and companies

Due to the low number of innovative companies in Slovenia, we seek to stimulate companies to cooperate in their R&D activities with knowledge institutions; and also to stimulate those companies which develop products and services of higher technological complexity, increasing their added value per employee by introducing new products or technologies.

 

Strengthening the ERA – especially in the field of industrial research

The European Union wish to determine the relevant areas and challenges for which Europe has competitive advantages and sufficient know how. Member States by participating in ERA ensure

that the research, industrial and other areas will receive all the necessary information about applying for ERA NET open calls in due course. The Ministry also organises training seminars on drawing up of ERA NET project proposals which include:

  • drawing up strategies and policies for selected areas, including research (research programmes), the economy (industry, and small and medium-sized enterprises), training (training programmes) and research infrastructure
  • alliance building with networks of excellence (6OP), and technology platforms (coordinated by large companies)
  • collecting data on existing national research programmes or projects funded by the relevant national institutions
  • organising joint meetings of researchers, higher education teachers, and representatives of national research programmes
  • drawing up joint bilateral or multilateral public open calls

The EU through the Member States informs the research, industrial and other institutions on the drawing up of selected research programmes, ensures their cooperation in the process, and provides know-how on drawing up and managing research projects in the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes of the EUGlobally competitive know-how must be integrated into globally competitive products; therefore, special attention is given to the formation and managing of consortia within the framework of Eureka, an international programme for technological R&D.

EUREKA Slovenian Chairmanship 07/08In July 2007, the Ministry, on behalf of Slovenia, took on the year-long chairmanship of Eureka-E!; the International Initiative for Industrial R&D. The Eureka programme was created in 1985 on the initiative of the West-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the French President François Mitterrand as a peaceful response to the US President Ronald Reagan's ‘Star Wars' project.

Since its creation, over 3,000 industrial R&D projects have been carried out within Eureka with the overall cost exceeding 24 billion euros. More than 13,400 partners from the industrial and academic sectors have been involved, and we can be proud that Eureka projects employ over 40 per cent of partners from small and medium-sized enterprises. Currently, Eureka includes 37 countries and the European Commission as the 38th member.

At the end of Slovenian chairmanship of Eureka, a ministerial conference will be organised, which will focus on the adoption of a new strategic document on future development of Eureka. It is expected that in addition to ministers responsible for research and development and ministers of the economy, the Slovenian Commissioner, Dr Janez Potočnik, will also attend the conference.

We are confident that the Slovenian chairmanship will leave a lasting imprint on the development of this oldest intergovernmental initiative for promoting industrial research and projects, which will contribute greatly to the future strengthening of a joint European R&D area and the vision of a development-oriented Europe.

 

The priorities of Slovenia's Eureka chairmanship are as follows:

 

1. Eureka and the European Research Area (ERA):
  • Eureka as an important pillar of the ERA
  • Cooperation with the European Commission
  • A new strategy for Eureka and a strategic document for E!-future
  • Eurostars (an initiative of Article 169 of the EU Treaty)
2. Rationalisation and synchronisation:
  • Better support for small and medium-sized enterprises
  • Better coordination of internal procedures – elimination of the biggest shortcomings of the Eureka initiative
  • Promoting further simplification, rationalisation and responsiveness to companies' needs
3. Expansion of the geographical influence of Eureka to the Western Balkans:
  • The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro;
4. A new communication strategy and promotion of Eureka results and completed projects.

 

Eurostars, an initiative of Article 169 of the EU Treaty, is the most recent Eureka programme. It will target small and medium-sized enterprises or companies, actively involved in R&D which invest at least 10 per cent of their turnover in research and development or have at least a 10 per cent FTEs working in the R&D sector. The Eurostars programme will co-finance industrial R&D projects. Evaluation will be central and funding will be jointly provided by member states and the Commission.

JTI proposals, which are part of pan-European public-private partnerships in key development areas of the European economy (within the framework of Technology Platforms), are in their final stage of preparation. Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs) were introduced by the 7th EU Framework Programme as a new way of forming public-private research partnerships at the European level. JTIs reflect the EU's firm commitment to coordinating research efforts in establishing a European research area, and pursuing European competitiveness goals. They result from the work of those European Technology Platforms which only occasionally managed to expand so as to require substantial financial input from public and private investment, and research resources in order to carry out their strategic research programmes. Joint Technology Initiatives have therefore been proposed as an effective means of meeting the demands of these European Technology Platforms.

 

Intersectoral mobility (the transfer of personnel between the public and private sectors)

Slovenia will try to increase the transition of the highly educated personnel between the private and public sectors since all the companies in Europe are aware of the importance of human resources.

 

The implementation of the SRA (Strategic Research Agenda) of European Technology Platforms

Slovenia will continue to provide support to the Strategic Research Agenda (SRAs) of the European technology platforms and to the operation of certain national technology platforms, which are based primarily on national opportunities and challenges, and are in line with the technology platforms. 

 

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Date: 10.01.2008