The 2014-2020 Eureka international programme, an EU-funded action, is coming to a close, with Slovenia excelling in getting its innovative projects green-lit this year. A total of 14 Slovenian projects have been given a go-ahead in the latest open call, a far greater number than any other participant country.
In terms of the number of approved projects, Slovenia is followed by the UK (seven), and Canada and Hungary (each four), said the Economy Ministry on Thursday.
Under the Eureka open call, 15 Slovenian applicants received EUR 4.3 million for 14 projects. A total of 50 applications were submitted worth almost EUR 40 million.
Slovenia has been lauded by the Eureka Secretariat for this achievement. The initiative aims to support companies in their R&D activities to maintain and step up their competitiveness and keep up with the European research trends.
Slovenia’s top spot among all the participants has shown the visionary and forward-thinking side of the country’s enterprises, said Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, adding that research and investing in digital and green technologies were key.
Half of Slovenian companies are investing in green technologies and efforts to step up their energy efficiency and reduce waste, according to the ministry. Some 85% of the projects involve product digitization, whereas a third focus on medical advances.
Both cohesion regions in Slovenia, Western and Eastern Slovenia, have benefited. Eastern Slovenia will see nine projects being co-funded with EUR 2.7 million, and six projects will be supported with funds worth EUR 1.6 million in Western Slovenia.
Projects will on average get some EUR 300,000 in Eastern Slovenia and EUR 270,000 in Western Slovenia.